Aftermath
by squeekness
Summary: Kimble's decision to help Seth comes with a terrible price and one poor Cajun thief is caught in the middle. Part 13 of the Game.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Kimble's decision to help Seth comes with a terrible price and one poor Cajun thief is caught in the middle. Part 13 of the Game.

Rated M for profanity, violence and some sexual content.

Disclaimer : I do not own the X-men or any of their associated villains, but the Siskans, the Dognan, Jael and the Outkasts are mine. Please do not use them without my permission. Thanks. :)

Notes :Art has been posted for Growing Pains on my website if anyone cares to look at it.

-------------------------------

(One)

_So now, here we are. I have discussed my past and now we've moved to the present. What happens now? Well, I for one have made a critical decision – a Game this may be, but I won't be playing by their rules. No, instead I have made up a few of my own. _

_You see, I now believe that everything that happened to me in my past – Quishnalay, the Muzla, Trishnar and yes, even David, have led me here to this point. They prepared me, made me strong, got me ready for the fight to come. And it will be a fight, the fight of my life. I know how I will win, too. I will use the dreams. I will watch and I will dream and will watchfully dream some more until I figure out whatever the heck it is I am supposed to do and this time, I will not fail. _

_So where to begin? Well, at the beginning of course. The dream that comes the most starts out the same way -- I am in my Black Room, the viewing window spread out wide to reveal the large blacktop tarmac where the big Blackbird planes are now kept, looking out on the red sandy dunes of Arizona. A blue double sided arrow shimmers at my feet._

_I step through and all is quiet and still. I have not been corrected for making my choice. This is how I know the fight will be here. Like I said, everything that happened before has brought me here. Quishnalay had to make me, the Muzla taught me to fight, Meckland shattered me and forced me to dream. Trishnar saw to it that I was repaired. It's a shame that David had to die, but it was his death that made me run. I ran all the way to the Arizona desert. The place where all of this will come to a close. _

_It will not find me unready._

_Now that I've decided on my role for this silly Game, it's time to plan my strategy. It's time to get down to business. It's time to dream and pay close attention. The dreams don't come to me as one solid continuous play, I get flashes of images, and now it will be up to me to properly decipher them. Those images will give me clues – hopefully – of what it is that I am supposed to do._

_The paths will help me. As much as I hate them, I have to have paths to have any kind of security. I need those choices that say I can screw up and do it all over again until I get it right. I'm lost without them._

_So here I am. I am standing alone out on the tarmac looking ahead. I look down, expecting to see another double sided arrow shimmer at my feet but there is nothing. "Get moving, you big chicken," I chide myself with my usual impatience. The paths will come, I just have to go to where they begin it seems. I take a step forward and that's when it happens. _

_I am instantly slammed with a sudden torrent of images. They blur past my eyes, too fast for me to have any hope of deciphering them. This is not a correction, though it is similar. This is the forward rush of time and I've experienced this only just a few times, usually when something really bad is going to happen. Something beyond "Hey, I've lost my teddy bear or my ring down the sink." Something like the Game. _

_When this happens, it then becomes my job to sift through though images and try to glean clues of what is to happen and what I must do. I wait until the stream ends and begin my sift. I know that the more I dream, the more images I will be able to sift and then connect into something usable. For now, this is what I have to start with. I see —_

_An expanse of dark pavement -- the tarmac that is spread out before me._

_A crumpled pile of white, a body lying broken on the ground._

_A child running towards it, her mouth open in a soundless scream. It's Angel. I recognize her from the video phone message she shared with Kimble._

_I see a flash of metal, a bladed weapon of some kind._

_The child falls and then there is blood. So much blood, more than that tiny body should ever be able to hold._

_I scream and then it comes, the message :_

_**This is what will happen if you fail.**_

_Before I can respond, I see another series of images, like a slide show on Crack. This is the correction. I haven't done anything wrong – yet. This is just a warning to let me know what will happen if I fail in my assigned task. I see an ocean of dead bodies, most of them uniforms of black with golden Xs on the sleeves. I see a massive explosion and then — Famine, Death, War. The world is suddenly sucked out from under my feet and I see the Earth as if from space. I get only a momentary glimpse of it before it explodes, taking me with it._

_Nothing like a little pressure to get this right, eh? _

_----------------------------_

Fallen stood against the construction trailer, watching as the Jeep pulled up. Kimble was driving now and Seth was curled up in the passenger seat. He looked rumpled and sleepy cute, like he'd just woken up from a nap. The brothers had been gone for just over a half hour, long enough to panic her.

She was quiet now, but inside her heart was breaking. Seth was going mad. He was going to split as Kimble had. She just knew this is what was happening. It was the only explanation for what was going on. She didn't know what to do or how exactly she was supposed to handle this. She looked up into Seth's face as they came to a stop. He was smiling now, his face serene. He got out and swayed a little unsteadily, wobbly on his feet as he blinked in the bright Arizona sun. His glasses were off, something odd that she noted right away.

She wasn't the only one upset, Remy rudely walked past her, his face a contorted mask of barely controlled fury. Kimble had been gone too long, long enough to frighten him into thinking the pilot was working his way back to a holding cell. It had taken all of Aiden's considerable will to keep the thief from breaking in on the two Siskans. Remy was relieved Kimble and Seth had returned, but now that relief was washed away by his indignation. He went up to Kimble's ear and hissed in a savage whisper, "What de fuck you doin', eh? You know you ain't supposed to go nowhere! You in trouble enough wit'out dis!"

Seth placed a hand on the irate thief's arm. "I'm fine. We're fine. It's okay. Don't be mad."

Gambit looked at him, looked at him close. The change in the young Siskan was profound, enough that he backed right off. Seth's shine wasn't even close to what it had been not even two short hours ago. It was a bright sparkling blue with no hint of black, brown or red. It was perfect. Lushna-esk perfect. Something it had never been before.

Kimble's on the other hand seemed dimmer, less bright. Tired. But maybe it was just the light out here. "Kimble, what did you do?" Remy asked, the light already dawning inside his head. No, that was impossible! Kimble wouldn't dare!

"I'm fine," Seth insisted, doing his best to get Kimble off the hook. It wasn't easy, he was somewhat mesmerized by all the colors racing though Gambit's shine. He didn't know what they meant, only that they were beautiful. "We're both fine."

Remy growled, deciding. He retreated, figuring now was not the time, but his ever watchful eyes didn't miss the way the Seth was openly gaping at him. "We goan' ta talk about dis. All t'ree of us."

"Right," Kimble hastily agreed, just wanting to please and to get out of all of this scrutiny. "Jus' not right now. He needs ta gits out of the sun, all right?"

Remy stepped back and watched as Kimble moved Seth towards the trailer. It was true that Seth looked a million times better, but why did that make him feel so uneasy? The thief couldn't help but think that something was terribly wrong. Yeah, they would talk later all right.

Kimble shuffled his brother into the trailer. As Seth passed by his waiting Mistress he shot her a look she knew all too well -- _I have to talk to you._

Her heart filling with dread, Fallen followed them both inside.

Kimble lay Seth down on the couch and turned on a nearby fan so it was blowing cool air over him. He set Seth's glasses on a nearby table, careful with them. "He gots a little hot. He jus' needs some rest, is all," he said to Fallen, hoping she would believe his lie.

Trouble was, he was a terrible liar. She knew it as soon as it left his lips. What did this mean? She felt cold, not wanting to think about the possibilities.

Kimble nodded at her. "Me an' Aiden'll finish up outside. Jus' sit with him, keep him company."

She nodded and crouched next to her Siskan, her face a mask of worry. Kimble passed her on his way out, running his fingertips over her head and sending her a vibration of comfort. Yes, he was still wary of her, but he needed her calm to keep her mind off of her anger. He closed the door and was gone.

Seth lay comfortable now, his eyes glassy. He was still high from the Kundatesh and could see Fallen's shine shimmering brightly around her. The fan was cool against his skin and her loving touch on him was so good. He smiled from all of these new and enhanced sensations tickling his senses.

"You all right?" she asked softly.

"Yes, Fallen. I know why I was so crazy now."

She shivered from fear, but asked, "Why?"

"It's the Kundatesh."

She laughed nervously. "What?"

"The Kundatesh. It's what Kimble just did to you just now. When he touched you. It's been coming out of me and I didn't know what it was until today."

She still didn't understand but asked, "So, are you going to be okay now?"

"I think so. I hope so. I just have to learn how to control it. Kimble said it can be dangerous. That people can get addicted to it. I think...I think maybe it's why he was with that Sabretooth guy for so long."

"Maybe the Professor can help you," she offered uncertainly. She wasn't comfortable with what Seth was saying. This story was a little too convenient and sounded contrived, like Seth had been fed a series of lies that he now believed as truths. What had Kimble done?

Seth just shook his head. "This is a Siskan thing. Kimble understands. He can help me."

"What happened today?" She knew Kimble was lying and that Seth was saying impossible things. She wasn't sure she wanted to know, but Seth's calm gave her some assurance. If he was better, how bad could it be?

Seth swallowed and disobeyed his brother's warning. He broke his promise by saying, "Kimble lay with me." He would never be able to hide anything from her so he just didn't try.

Fallen couldn't hide her surprise or her pain. Of all the possible scenarios she had imagined had happened that morning, that hadn't been one of them. Her breath was gone, her heart shattered by the betrayal. She backed up with a pained whimper, but he grabbed at her. "Don't be mad at him, Fallen, please. I made him do it."

"Why?" she sobbed, the tears spilling from her eyes.

"Because I've been going crazy. It's been happening for a while now, I just didn't know what it was. This Kundatesh, it's been coming awake and it...it reaches out to others that have it. I had a sickness, one that Kimble fixed by being with me. This sickness, it's real, Fallen. Aiden wrote about it in his diary, that book I was translating, the one I told you about. It's all true. All of it. You see, Aiden touched me that first day he was here----"

"Aiden!" she snapped, growing angry now. She had distrusted this stranger from the get go. This only justified it. Kimble was so different now that Aiden was here. This had to be his fault.

"No, Fallen. It's not like that!" Seth blurted out, trying so hard to make his Mistress understand. This was so big, so very important. He had to make her see. "He's got the Kundatesh really strong and it just made it worse for me. I wanted Aiden to help me with the sickness since he knew about it, but he said no. I was upset today because Aiden...because Aiden refused me. He did it for you. He knows I've been going crazy and he wanted to help me, but he held back because of you and Kimble. He sent Kimble after me and I told Kimble I would make Aiden lay with me if he didn't. I made him do it, Fallen. This mess is all my fault, but you've got to understand. This isn't because I don't love you, I do. I love you more than the whole world."

"But I'm not enough, am I?" she whispered sadly. She was trying to work the mess that Seth had dumped on her lap. It was like some kind of terrible soap opera. The only part that made sense to her was the idea that Seth had been tricked into cheating on her. He had been duped into thinking he needed something she could not provide. It hurt so very bad. "I'm a woman and I'm not enough."

"No. It's not your sex, Fallen. It's the Kundatesh. I had to feel it. I had to have it wash over me. It opened the door inside my head and now things are different. The screaming I had inside is gone. This power was trying to bust out of me and now it has. Don't you get it? I'm Lushna-esk, just like Kimble and Aiden are. Kimble helped me get it all straight. I'm okay, now. I really am."

Fallen stood up and he watched her go, thinking she had finally understood. He couldn't have been more wrong. He could see the shines now but didn't know how to read them. Hers had turned dark and cloudy, but he didn't know what it meant. She stopped at the door. "I think you believe this, Seth. I know you've been lonely and you feel like you want to belong to them, to the others like you. It's so easy to say it's a power...a feeling that you now magically share. The fact is you're very naive. You've been manipulated, toyed with. Sex can't cure anything, not by itself. Kimble told you a lie."

"Fallen, no. Come here, I'll prove it."

She looked back at him and he saw in her face what Kimble had meant. She didn't understand and wasn't about to. He watched in horror as she walked out and slammed the door. He scrambled to follow, but he was still in shock from his changing and not quite steady. He made it to the door and was blinded by the bright Arizona sun the moment he opened it. Compared to the darkness of the trailer, it had been too much to bear. Just the same, he could see well enough to observe what she did next.

---------------------

Remy was still unsettled even as he watched Kimble take Seth inside the trailer. He hadn't liked the change in Kimble's shine and he wasn't the only one. Aiden had seen it too, but wasn't sure what it meant. While he could see that Seth's condition had been corrected, he didn't understand why Kimble's shine looked so dim and faded. It shouldn't have been like that. Something was wrong.

Gambit returned to the snack table and to his iced coffee, grumbling in irritation to himself. With all the trouble they had going on, the last thing he needed was for his Siskans to get twitchy. He had his hands full already keeping watch out here for Jael, never mind any trouble from within.

Aiden stood next to him, bumping against him gently in apology for all this, his eyes never leaving the trailer door. He hadn't wanted to Remy to get angry, but couldn't deny that the morning's disturbance was worth it. Seth was much improved and he no longer had to worry about that. Maybe Kimble's weariness had come from so strenuous a session. Maybe he was worrying too much.

Or not. Kimble came out of the trailer a moment later, looking nervous and scared. He said nothing to Remy or Aiden but moved away and back to work. He couldn't hide the fact that he was upset any more than he could hide his lies to Fallen. He wasn't interested in talking about what had just taken place -- Aiden had started to walk over, but Kimble met his eyes and shook his head. He wanted to be left alone. At least he stayed in sight, working where he could be observed instead of running off as Seth had done. Aiden settled back as he had been, his arms crossed, unhappy. Kimble's shine hadn't improved, it had only grown worse.

Remy felt Aiden's unease, feeling the tension in the area grow and spread out like some kind of stink bomb had gone off. He couldn't escape the feeling that something bad was about to happen. He didn't have to wait long.

Gambit and Aiden both jerked in surprise when the trailer door slammed suddenly open and Fallen came out in a rush. She wasted no time -- she walked right up to Kimble where he was working and she slapped him viciously, cutting his face with her claws. "What? One Siskan wasn't enough for you? How dare you? How could you take advantage of him like that? He's just a child! You raped him, you child molesting bastard!"

Kimble had already started to retreat and began to cry before she had reached him, seeing from her shine that Seth had wasted no time in breaking his promise. Flushed with guilt and shame, he stood and took the blow with a sharp cry of pain and humiliation, but didn't retaliate or make any move to stop her from striking him again.

Fallen couldn't contain her rage, especially when he didn't resist her. She tackled him, pinning him under one arm, and punched him viciously, driving her fist into his belly, using all of the force of her hurt and rage. All of her pent up fury spilled over and she struck him again and again, punishing him without mercy.

Kimble didn't fight her though he was more than capable. All the while, he turned to look across at Seth who stood in the trailer doorway and their eyes met._ You promised me you wouldn't tell her, you promised me and you lied, _that look said. _It's all ruined now just like I said. This is all my fault. _When felt he'd taken enough Kimble finally tore himself away from his former Mistress and danced away, shaking and coughing as the tears poured down his face in a flood. Unrepentant for the beating she had given him thus far, Fallen pursued him, not letting him get far.

At the first sign of the attack, Aiden and Remy both came at a run. The snack table hadn't been far, but it wasn't close enough for them to keep Kimble from being struck. Aiden was enraged at Kimble's treatment and being much faster, he got to Fallen first and snatched out, forcefully capturing a tiny white wrist in his hands. His anger was too great, he never felt the bones in her arm snap as he snarled, "Back off! Dat'sz enough!"

Fallen's reaction to the pain was immediate. She released a powerful defensive burst of Ristle energy from that arm, zapping him hard enough to burn and injure the hand that held her. "You insensitive, Siskan prick!" she shouted, pushing him back. "**You** back off, asshole! Get back or I'll melt you down, I swear it! I'll slag your fucking Siskan ass, I don't give a shit! You stay away from Seth! Both of you! You come close to him again, I'll kill you!"

Aiden howled in agony and fell back, his hand and wrist black and smoking. The fingers of that hand had melted into one gooey mess, no longer resembling anything human. The pain was unbelievable and all he saw was red. He started to charge her again, seeking only retribution, but Remy had come up fast, grasping him tightly and trying to subdue him before this could escalate any further. It was a hard battle, Aiden's mind was a blank wall of fury, he was momentarily insane with anger.

Kimble had enough. He ran forward and tore Aiden away from Remy, knowing the thief would never be able to hold him for long. Kimble vaulted into the air, hauling a burnt and protesting Aiden with him.

Seth meanwhile had collapsed in the trailer doorway, unable to stop the horror that had played out before him. He broke down into wracking sobs and wailed, covering his face with his hands. He thought if he had told her the truth she would understand, but it had all gone wrong. This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Es'pere, Fallen, wait!" Remy demanded, stepping in her way. She had turned back to the trailer and Gambit feared Seth was going to be beaten next. Her shine was all violence and anger, he had never seen it so black. "What's goin' on!"

Her response was two raised fists, the fact that arm was badly broken didn't stop her from charging her hands with Ristle, backing him up just fine. "Stay back! If you had anything to do with this, you will pay. That's a fucking promise!"

Remy had backed up but he hadn't backed down. "Don't you lay a hand on 'im, Fallen! Not one finger! Set' is just a child!"

"Of course he is. **_My child! My Siskan!_** And no one is going near him again!"

Gambit could only move aside and let her pass, there was no way she was going to talk about this. At least he was content in thinking she wouldn't abuse him, her vibrations had changed as she spoke, she had told him the truth. Besides, he had to figure out where Kimble had gone. He snarled a curse and pulled the tracker from his pocket, grabbing his radio as well. He called for back up, moving away.

Fallen ignored him. She stomped back up to Seth and shoved him back inside the trailer, slamming the door on the gawkers who had come running. She tossed Seth into the bathroom like a bad dog, determined never to let him out of her sight again, and slammed the door shut on him, using her body to lock him inside. She fell against the door, bawling herself now and leaving him all alone and broken on the other side. Kimble, that sick fuck. He knew better! How dare he do this!

Seth howled and slammed himself against the door. He just knew Kimble was going to break, the look on his face was evidence enough. He demanded to be let go, but Fallen contained him easily. His anger surged. How dare she treat him like this! Like he was a piece of property with no rights. He howled and raged and howled some more, but it was no use. She was in control.

"Kimble!" he sobbed in vain. "Kimble!"

-------------------------------

Kimble flew out across the desert and over to a nearby stream that was fed by an underground spring. This time of year there was actually some water in it, the fact that it existed at all was part of the reason the Professor had chosen this spot. The water ran deep underground and the Complex was taking advantage of it through secret technologies the intelligent mutants had devised over the years.

Oblivious of all that, Kimble hovered over the convenient stream and dumped Aiden down into it, deliberately soaking him where he was burned. Aiden landed with a grunt at the rough handling, but the water felt good on his hand. The skin there was black and the pain was horrible. He lay it in the water and drank some as well, feeling better. His rage had subsided during their brief flight and he was back to thinking coherently.

Kimble wasn't so lucky, he landed on the shore and paced, still bawling helplessly. This whole thing had blown up beyond repair, just one more impossible situation in an endless stream of many. No matter where he turned, disaster struck. He was cursed through and through, there was no other possible explanation for the way his life crumbled with every step he took. No matter who he tried to help or who he tried to love, it always blew up in his face.

"It isz not your fault," Aiden tried, seeing Kimble's deepest despair.

"Yes, it is! It always is! It always happens ta me like this! I hurts evraone I loves!"

Aiden staggered to his feet and sloshed through the water towards him. When Kimble turned skittish and backed away, Aiden put his hands up in a gesture of patience. "Easzy, Keem. Disz wasz Aiden'sz idea, eh? Sztupid it wasz, Szet' too young, too much luv wit' 'isz Misztressz, him. Aiden should 'ave lay wit' de boy. Den all ze trouble be wit me not you."

"Nobody should have laid with the boy!" Kimble snarled. "It's fucked now, don'tcha ya understand? Fucked!" His body was shaking badly now and he heaved, vomiting up a puddle of gel.

Aiden stepped back, distressed. This was not good. Kimble was trashed in spite of all of this being for Seth's benefit. This had blown up in a way he hadn't come close to foreseeing. Kimble's shine was so dim, so very dim and now shot with black and grey. How could this possibly get any worse? "Easzy now, Keem. Disz not your fault, you. Relax."

Done with conversation, Kimble just shot him a nasty look and took off into the sky, leaving him behind. Aiden was safe now from Fallen's wrath and close enough that others would find him. Right now all Kimble wanted was to be left alone.

"Keemble, wait!"

It was no good. His lover was gone. Aiden fell back to his knees, feeling the red hot tears threatening again. What a complete disaster.

_See? See what you get? _Father said, standing close by with his arms crossed. _I told you this was nothing but trouble, you getting involved in the lives of others._

"Aiden didn't do not'ing! Szet' wasz in trouble! It isz dem who don' undersztand!"

_So selfish you are, and so foolish. You had to interfere, you couldn't leave it alone. You think with your cock, instead of your brain! Sex wasn't necessary to fix Kimble's brother and you know it, you just decided on your own that this was how it was to be handled! Foolish, foolish, Dreamer! We have a job to do here, one that had nothing at all to do with Seth and his little problem! How is fooling around and causing trouble going to accomplish what we came here for!_

Aiden started to say something more, to protest further in his own defense, but froze. He saw a ghost appear next to Father, only this one wasn't Talalanay. It was hazy and unclear which meant it was real and not one of his hallucinations.

The Dreamer had seen real spirits before, though not often. Tillamay had been the first but she wasn't the last. He'd seen remnants of those who had lived, people that he had known personally. These spirits were vaporous, never as bold as his own private peanut gallery, and he always understood what it meant when they appeared – that they were dead and going somewhere he could not follow. That he was seeing this again only meant this bad day had gotten far, far worse.

The ghostly image coalesced and became a little more clear. He saw Babette's face, saw her bend down towards him in farewell, and he began to weep. "Non! Not my Babette! Non! It'sz not fair! Non!" He lay his head down into the water and sobbed, gradually growing still as he went into shock. He let the spell take him and lay like a dead thing, like a creature who didn't belong here and never would.


	2. Chapter 2

(Two)

Logan stood on the red clay outcropping, scowling. Here he was at yet another crime scene, a murder as grisly as Jennah's and the two less than a week apart. Something was going on here, something ugly. One of the Complex's outer patrols had stumbled over the site and called it in. The Professor sent Logan out again, his feral detective.

The targets of this second attack did not belong to the Complex. Two men lay sprawled out on their backs, stripped of all their clothing and butchered just as efficiently as Jennah had been. Logan figured these two had been campers, there was a makeshift campsite here as well. Both appeared to be indigent, the remnants of their clothing were as poor as their supplies. Raggedy cloth tents had been knocked over and open cans of the cheapest food lay open in a small heap. He wasn't surprised to see one of them belonging to Alpo, food for the homeless nationwide. The fingernails of both men were grimy with dirt and their teeth weren't in the best shape as well. No one was going to miss these guys.

"Who are you?" Logan asked his mysterious predator. As with Jennah, there were bare footprints here, ones not belonging to the either of the two victims. Their feet were bare, but relatively clean, their shoes had been removed after their deaths. The size of the footprints seemed to be the same to his eye as the one from Jennah's crime scene and he'd had a cast made of one of them to be sure. It told him that it was only one person doing this, the mysterious print was the same size all around this scene. One person alone had gotten the jump on these guys.

Wolverine looked around the site, trying to fight a vague sense of unease. Maybe it was just the fact that he was at yet another grisly scene of murder, but he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. He found himself glancing up at the canyon tops, checking for spies. Jael couldn't be this close already could he?

Wolverine grumbled impatiently when his radio crackled, "Hey, boss! You there?"

He clicked it. "What ya want, Jerry?"

"We've got a problem here at the Dragon site."

Logan groaned and rolled his eyes. Jerry was supposed to be watching Kimble and this he did not want to hear. He was investigating a mess here, for Pete's sake. "What is it?"

"There was some kind of fight at the worksite and Kimble took off with that Aiden guy."

"Define 'took off'."

"As in up, up and away. They're flying somewhere in your direction."

"Lovely. I'm on it."

Logan clicked off and pulled out his tracker box. Sure enough, there were two little red blips heading his way. He gestured to Rogue who was standing nearby. "Hey, kid. I'm gonna need a lift."

-----------------------------

Remy, having acquired his own transportation in much the same manner as Wolverine, watched the ground whiz by his feet in a blur, always nerve wracking. He had never enjoyed being flown, but he'd had no choice but to ask for help. He'd put in a distress call to Cyclops' telekinetic wife and Jean had graciously given him a hand in tracking down his wayward children, flying him out across the desert with great speed. Gambit had his tracker box along and was using it to locate the two Siskans. He scowled when he saw the two blips divide, his quarry had separated. First things first, they were approaching the nearest blip, one that was no longer moving.

Both Kimble and Aiden's locators had set off the alarms as soon as they fled the perimeter -- only a few minutes had passed since they took off and thankfully it hadn't been long enough for them to have gone too far. Remy spotted the patch of water and gave a cry, his alarm rising when he saw the flash of an impossibly bright green shirt in the water. Aiden wasn't just not moving, he was passed out or worse.

Jean came to a gentle landing and Remy found his feet quickly, tossing Jean the tracker box to free up his hands. He ran to Aiden and started to look him over, trying not to panic. Aiden was laying on his side in the shallow water, his head down and his eyes glassy. He was catatonic and unresponsive to their arrival. At least the water was too low for him to drown. Gambit scrambled over quickly and shook the Dreamer, trying to rouse him. He saw the nasty burn on his arm and scowled. "Aiden! Wake up!"

The Siskan did not respond, he was limp in Remy's grasp though his eyes were open. The Dreamer was trashed, in some kind of shock, but not screaming like a lunatic or flashing crystalline swords at anyone. It could have been worse.

"Where's Kimble?" Remy asked Jean, seeing she was already looking at the tracker box for the other half of this dubious team.

"About half a mile to the east."

"Give me de box, s'il vous plait. Take Aiden 'ome, den come back fo' me, bien?"

"Are you nuts? It's over a hundred degrees out here!"

"Den fly fast!" he ordered, dumping Aiden's half soaked body into her arms. He took the tracker box from her and took off running.

Jean had no room to argue, she vaulted into the air, carrying Remy's precious cargo.

-----------------------------

Gambit was soon gasping for air, it was sweltering out here. At least Kimble had landed, or so the box claimed. He was approaching a set of cliffs and saw what looked like a cave there. The tracker said Kimble was inside, the Siskan probably couldn't take the heat any better than he had himself.

He scrambled up the rocks and went inside. His skin sighed with instant relief, though it smelled funny in here. It was still hot, but at least ten degrees cooler in here out of the sun. It was larger inside the cave that it had looked from the outside and he was thankful that he wouldn't have to crawl. He hadn't gone far when he was forced to stop, there was a large red stain on the floor here, the source of the smell.

His eyes opened wide. _Dis where Jennah was killed!_

**_/ Ignore it and move on!_ **Shi'ow-ri ordered.**_ / She's gone but Kimble is not. I can hear him. /_**

It was true, there was the unmistakable sound of Kimble bawling, a sound he'd heard far too many times not to know.

Gambit moved on, passing from the front room to one deeper in. The further he went, the larger the cave grew, making this all the easier. He didn't have to go far to find his friend, the sounds of Kimble crying were louder. A cough and then he heard the unmistakable sound of Kimble heaving again. Oh yeah, this was going to be bad.

"Hey, Kim? You okay?" he said, moving more quickly.

"Stays away!" Kimble howled in agony and sent a warning volley of spikes out in his direction.

Gambit tried to dodge the attack, but he had nowhere to go. He was nimble yet not as quick as he could have been. One small spike caught in his thigh and he jumped back, snarling from the pain. It was the size of a large pencil and hurt like a bastard. Blood poured down his leg and he fell against the wall with a shout. The pain was unbelievable, about as much as the idea that Kimble would actually hurt him like this. It could have been much worse, it was a minor miracle he hadn't been spiked in the belly. He slid back away against the rock wall and pressed his hand to the wound, trying to halt the bleeding. His fingers were shaking too badly from the heat and shock and he couldn't think straight. Sparkly things danced before his eyes. This day was going from bad to worse.

He looked up in relief when he heard Jean come scrambling up behind him. She'd brought company this time, Wolverine and Rogue. Remy didn't know if that was good or bad. He gasped, "Stay back, he playin' fo' keeps!"

Jean saw his injury and moved instantly to help him. She could see he was a little sunburned from his journey here and going into shock from his injury. She had a small backpack with her this time and gave him a bottle of chilled water. He drank half of it down greedily and poured the rest over his head, clearing his mind immediately. He had to get Kimble out of here. He had work to do. He would suffer the pain of his injury later.

Logan called out. "Kimble! C'mon back now. Yer breakin' yer curfew. Time ta quit this. We got Aiden back all right. Let's go home." He had kept his voice level and was honestly trying to do this right.

"Lemmie 'lone!" Kimble wailed. "We's bad! We's so bad!"

His voice was a little too high pitched for Gambit. It was too much like Lin's.

"Den talk to me, little brother. What happened t'day?"

Kimble wailed loudly in mental agony and didn't answer.

"**_Kimble. Dis's me. You know Gambit's never gonna hate you,"_** Remy said in Siskan now. He hoped that maybe Kimble would be willing to talk in this more private form.

"**_Seth's been all messed up! I tried ta fix it an' now it's all fucked! It's fucked!" _**Kimble replied, following Gambit's example as he had hoped and using the Siskan.

"_**How you try an' fix it?" **_

Kimble's only answer was another gut wrenching wail.

"What's goin' on?" Logan asked.

Jean already knew her telepathy was useless on the non-organic Siskans so she tried her best on Gambit's thoughts but got nothing. His well trained mind had blocked her out, this conversation was private.

"_**What you do, little brother? C'mon, now. Talk to me." **_

"**_I- I- I lay with him!"_** Kimble bawled, confirming Remy's worst fears. **_"He begged me an' I done it an' I made him promise not ta tell but he did anaways an' now Fallen's all mad an' it's all my fault! All my fault! Arghh!"_** Kimble screamed and flailed around, overcome with emotion. In his hysteria, he released more spikes. They weren't directed at anyone, they just shattered against the walls and made a lot of noise. Chips of rock fell with a clatter and raised a cloud of dust in the air, almost blocking Gambit's view.

"Is this going well?" Wolverine asked Remy tersely. It didn't sound like it from here.

"He communicatin', comprenez vous! Jus' shut up!" Gambit hissed impatiently.

"Yeah, he's communicating all right," Logan grumbled but quieted when Jean pinched him. It was time to wait and he would just have to be patient.

Remy returned his attention back to his hysterical Siskan. **_"Why he beg you fo' dat, eh? You his brother." _**

Kimble took a gasping breath and blurted out in a hysterical gush, **_"It's the Kundatesh. It's makin' him all crazy. He gots it now. It's been comin' awake all inside 'a him an' makin' him crazy. I lay with him and made it come out and he wuz better. He had an understandin' of it. I made him promise not ta tell cuz Fallen wuzn't ever gonna unnerstand. None of yous would cuz ya never unnerstands nuthin' 'bout me, 'bout us, but he done it anaways! Now she hates me! She said I cain't never sees him again! She's gonna rips him apart an' it's all my fault! I shoulda jus' said no, but he wuz beggin' me cuz he wuz all sick inside an' he said I could fix it an' I loves him so much so I done it and it's all fucked now...fucked...!" _**Kimble's voice trailed off in to an agonized wail. There was a scuffle as he fell, the Siskan was finally spent and all smashed inside. He lay down and cried and cried.

Gambit waded through the garble and understood had happened with Seth, feeling a little sheepish for not realizing it earlier. **Shemusk.** Seth was suffering as Talalanay had, as he himself had all those years ago when the Kundatesh came on him with a vengeance. Apparently Remy had been too busy to put it all together and the thief felt a little stupid when he considered all of the hints that Aiden had been dropping as well. Seth hadn't been dealing with it so well and had reached out to one he knew he could trust. What was puzzling here was why now? Seth was eight years old, shouldn't this had happened before now? Did Aiden have something to do with this? What was going on?

Remy grunted as he got himself moving, there would be time enough for questions later. He was hurting badly now but he did his best to shut it out. He had to get to Kimble and let him know it was okay. He hobbled over to where Kimble lay and put his arms around him. Kimble's skin was hot and dry and covered with dust and grime. His face still showed the ugly scratches Fallen had given him. He sobbed as Gambit came around him, but didn't fight.

"**_Easy, now, Kim. Dis gonna be all right. Gambit knows what Set's trouble's been now. Shoulda seen it comin'. Don't you worry 'bout nuthin'. We gonna work it all out. You jus' gotta come back wit me. Come sit wit' your Angel. Gambit's gonna talk wit Fallen, get it all cleared up. We gonna make dis all right,_** d'accorde?"

"**_I still haves it," _**Kimble said softly.

"_**What's dat?" **_

"**_My disease. I thought maybe it wuz gone cuz Aiden come ta love me, but I wuz wrong. It's still here. I hurts the ones who love me. Fallen said I took advantage of Seth...she said...she said I raped him. Called me a child molester... Oh, we's bad, Remy. We's so bad...!" _**Kimble shivered off a vibration of revulsion, of a self hatred that was sickening in its intensity.

"**_Non, Kim. You jus' misunderstandin',"_**Gambit said, squeezing him even more tightly. This was far worse than he could have imagined, Fallen couldn't have said any worse thing. Kimble was sure to crash. **_"It ain't true what she say. She just real mad. She didn't mean it. You would never 'urt Set' dat way. Don' do dis." _**

Kimble heaved a heavy sigh and shuddered. He let go of it all and lay still. Finding no place to hide here, he withdrew into himself. Shutting down as Aiden had.

"Kimble? Kimble! Aw, hell!" Gambit complained when he saw the light in Kimble's eyes go out. He grabbed the pilot and dragged him out as best he could.

The others helped him and they all scrambled and scuffled out of the cave, not a one of them caring to look at the red smear marking Jennah's demise. Gambit hoisted Kimble up in his arms, wordlessly demanding he be the one to carry the stricken pilot. Jean helped him as best she could and they took off, followed by Rogue and Logan, up into the sky.

-----------------------------

A half an hour later, Gambit sat on a hospital examining bed, smoking in a deliberate show of defiance of the rules. He was stretched out and comfortable with a puke tray in his lap for the ashes. He knew he would have to quit for good soon, Molly was already starting to show. He didn't smoke around her and never in their apartment anymore. But at this moment, he was just a little bit stressed out.

Henry came in with his x-rays and scowled at him. "Put that out. Just because you want cancer doesn't mean the rest of us do."

"Je suis de'sole, doc. Just a little wigged out is all." Remy crushed out his butt and lay back, folding his arms under his head.

"Hey, Remy," Maylee said, coming into the room.

He couldn't help but smile at her. She had grown up so pretty and was such a good kid. " 'Ey, dere, May. Kick anyone's butt at cards lately?"

"Won fifty bucks last night," she boasted with a smile.

"You a good girl. Been trained by de best."

"Got that right."

"Ahem," Beast grunted good naturedly. "Now that the 'feel good' pleasantries are over, my Cajun friend, you want the good news or the bad?"

"Good news firs', you know de rules, homme."

"Well, Kimble's spike didn't break the bone, only grazed it. No major arteries or veins were damaged. Looks like it's just a flesh wound."

"And de bad?"

"It's a good sized spike. Looks like you and your crutches will be reacquainted."

"Gambit figured dat one out already, mon ami."

"All right, then." Henry nodded at Maylee and she went to work on Remy's leg. Gambit grunted and twisted as she began to work the spike out. She had injected him with painkillers before starting, but they didn't seem to be working. He was trying hard to be brave, but this hurt like she was ripping him apart.

"Me an' Kimble gonna 'ave some words," he gasped. They all knew he wouldn't yell at Kimble, just wring out an apology or two. Maylee yanked on the spike again and he saw stars. "Baise!"

"Watch your mouth," Henry scolded gently, he wasn't completely without sympathy. "Some of us can understand that word in any language."

Remy gasped and tried to breathe. He glanced up at Henry. "So long as de petite here torturin' me, may as well give me de skinny on Seth. You do a scan on 'im?"

"Yes, but as you know, empathy won't show on any scanner."

"So what you do?"

Henry just smiled. "Simple. I just let him touch me."

Remy nodded. "So 'e empathic now."

"So it would seem. He has this Kundatesh as Aiden calls it."

"Babette have it, too. It's what she called it de firs' time we met."

"Not anymore," Logan grumbled with a scowl as he walked into the room. He paused momentarily and frowned unhappily when he saw the size of the spike trapped in Remy's leg. That was going to be painful when it came out.

"What you mean?" Gambit wheezed.

"Babette's dead. Looks like all yer Siskans 're psycho. What a surprise."

"Eh?"

Logan handed him a slip of paper that had been sealed in a plastic evidence bag. One look revealed that it was nothing less than a suicide note, written by Babette to her Dreamer. Gambit read it slowly, feeling the lump harden in his throat before he even got past the first line.

_My Dearest Aiden, _

_I am writing this to you in the hope that you will understand what I feel I must do. I love you, I always have, my little Dreamer. I love you for who you are, for taking care of me, for trying to save my life. The truth is I died on the day Jael came and stole my David away. I know he is dead, the Kundatesh tells me so, and so it must be. I have no wish to live without him any longer. Please don't be angry with me. This is not your fault. Do not weep for me, though I know you will. You are so kind and loving though you do your best to hide it. I know you've got your Kimble now and he will look after you as I have done. Because he is here, I know it's okay now for me to leave you. I am at peace knowing you will not be alone. Talalanay and Father won't trouble you anymore either, now that Kimble is here, too. You haven't spoken much to them around me since Kimble has come so I know this must be true. Never have I seen such peace in your eyes as I do now. They will grow to love him, I know they will. Stay good and be safe, my dearest love._

_Babette_

Remy closed his eyes and shook from the pain. She was so beautiful to him, always had been. All the Siskans were. He would feel her loss for a long time. "How you know she gone?"

"She took a razor and bled herself out in the bathtub. I got the call right when we got back with the boys. Found these." He held up a plastic bag with three blackened orbs inside. Babette's stars.

Remy took them with a trembling hand. "Mon petite fille, l'amante... Oh, no...!" he whispered softly as the pain took him. Seemed like he couldn't catch a break, he hadn't come close to seeing this coming, there had never been any indication in her shine that she was that bad off. He realized now that all this time, when he'd been seeing the improvement in her, it was because Aiden's bond with Kimble was giving her the freedom to leave. She wouldn't have to worry about the Dreamer anymore. Gambit's whole body shook with the loss and he closed his eyes against a rise of tears he couldn't hope to stop. Holding these stars was like holding her ashes, her dead body.

Logan's whole face changed when he saw Remy react so strongly. He had no idea Gambit and Babette had been that close. Really, he should have known. Gambit was close to them all, these Siskans. "I'm sorry," he stammered lamely, too late now.

Gambit wiped at his face, not even trying to hide the shake of his fingers, it was simply too late for all of that. His voice was cracked and strained as he said, "Je suis bien. Does Aiden know?"

"Who's Talalanay and Father?" Wolverine asked instead, not answering.

"No clue," Gambit lied. If he admitted he knew, Logan would know he was reading Aiden's journal before Seth was finished with it. Still, he offered this, "Knowin' dese Siskans? Probably de same as Zander an 'Shay."

"Well, that's just great," Logan snapped, unhappy.

"Does Aiden know she gone?" Remy repeated sharply, demanding an answer.

"Not yet. Got him in one of Henry's medical lock ups. Kimble's in the other."

"What for?"

Logan just looked at him like he was an idiot. "Aiden's an asshole and Kimble spiked you, don't be stupid."

"Kimble was upset."

"And now he's locked up. Fair is fair."

"I want to talk to 'im. I want to talk to dem all."

Logan nodded. "Seth's in one of the beds and Fallen's in Henry's office. Take yer pick."

Remy shivered as Maylee finally got the spike out. The hole it left behind was large and it was bleeding quite nicely now. Wolverine cursed softly as he watched Maylee next flush the wound to clean it out. Remy was white and shaking, prompting Wolverine to ask, "You sure yer up to this?"

"Oui," Remy said, closing his eyes. Another tear leaked out, he couldn't help it. This hurt so bad. The spike was long and jagged, some chunks of flesh came with it, but it was nothing compared to the emotional spike that had run through his heart. All of his Siskans had crashed at once. It hurt him like nothing else ever could. "You seen Aiden? How is 'e?" Gambit wheezed, just to take his mind off of this.

"He's out of shock now. He's awake and just sittin' quiet."

"What you t'ink? You an' him was gettin' along good when he firs' came."

"I think he's dangerous. He's got some kind of agenda, I'd bet on it."

Gambit squinted and snapped, "Aiden's got nuthin' goin' on, you paranoid old man."

"You love him. Yer biased," Logan returned, not missing a beat, the words not exactly complimentary.

"Aiden was tryin' to 'elp, but nobody was listenin', dat's de only t'ing de boy 'ad goin' on. He knew what was wrong wit Set', dat 'e was comin' into 'is power."

"And just how would you know that?" Logan questioned, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms.

All he got in return was another dark scowl from the thief. "Aiden been askin' a lot of questions about Set'. Jus' t'ought 'e was curious about Set' 'cause 'e Kimble's brother. I was wrong. Aiden seen Set' was sufferin'. De Kundatesh tell him."

"If this Kundatesh is so great, how come you didn't know yourself?"

Remy retreated a little, hardening up as he took the blame. "I seen it. Jus' didn't know what it was. T'ought mebbe 'e was just stressed out on account of all de trouble Kimble was in. Didn't know it was much more dan dat."

"So Seth really was sick in some way?" Beast interrupted, hoping to calm these two down. He didn't much like Remy's Gambit face, the one that said he was taking this too hard.

"Oui. De power grows when it starts, it get stronger over time," Remy explained. "I know dis 'cause it happen to me, way back when Kim first took off all dem years ago. It more dan just empathy, dis Kundatesh. It takes over yo' whole life, affectin' de way you see people and dey see you. It strong wit de older Siskans, now it strong wit Set' too. It's a way of communicatin' 'tween all of us dat have it. Dat's why Gambit's t'inkin' Set' was telling the truth about his changin'. Set' got de same codes as Kim. Mebbe it jus' took dis long fo' 'im to grow into 'is power."

"Codes...yes," Henry said thoughtfully.

"Eh?" Remy queried, hearing something in Henry's voice.

Beast sighed softly before saying, "I'm breaking a confidence in saying this, but I feel that it's just too important to leave unsaid any longer."

"What's dat, mon ami?"

Henry nervously glanced once at Logan before saying to Remy, "Seth has altered his codes."

" 'Scuze-moi? How dat possible?"

"Don't ask me, but he did it. He said he was trying to fix his clumsiness, his sensitivity to sensory input. He used codes he saw the Games Master use on Kimble."

"When 'e do dis?"

"The first week we were here."

Remy closed his eyes. "Well dat explain why 'e been actin' all funny."

"Yes. Now, I'm guessing it triggered a reaction of some kind. One that boosted his empathy, brought his ability with this Kundatesh to the fore."

"Dat's not all it did."

"What?"

"**Shemusk,**" Remy said, "Dat's what Aiden kept pushin' on me. What 'e call dis sickness."

"Explain."

"Aiden say dat some of de empat'ic Siskans, dey go t'rough **Shemusk**, a kind of puberty wit deir powers. Supposed to 'appen de first couple of weeks or so after dey made. Dey get a teacher for dis, someone who finish de process." He looked across to Logan, wary of the response when he said next, "Sex usually involved. Don' afta be dat way, but Aiden say it de best way dey learn since de Kundatesh most often used dat way. Looks like Seth was takin' applications. Kimble got chosen."

Henry nodded. "Now it all makes sense."

"What makes sense?" Logan asked, hearing more than simple acknowledgment in Henry's voice.

"Seth has been chemically changed."

" 'Scuze me?" Remy questioned, sitting up a bit.

Henry opened a file folder he had brought in with him and took out some papers. "As you know, the Siskans are notoriously hard to scan, I can't take physical samples because they just shimmer away."

Remy nodded, following along. "Oui."

"Well, one good thing about having our Siskan guests in the house is that it gave me a chance to try a little experiment. Empathy doesn't show up on a scanner but that doesn't mean I couldn't scan for something else. I already knew that one of our Shi'ar examining machines can do a quick chemical scan based on heat signature. I had used it years ago to scan Kimble and then Seth after he was finally removed from the system. The scan isn't perfect by any means, but I at least had something that can be measured."

"And?"

"I have scans from Kimble and Seth that date all the way back from when they first came. I did some more on Aiden and Babette when they arrived as well. When I had four scans to look at instead of only the two, I concluded that the health of the Siskans can in fact be tracked this way. I just scanned Seth and his isn't even close to what it had been only two months ago."

"What you mean?"

"It's not the same. It changed just slightly when he altered his codes – not enough that I paid it much mind, but it's not the same now. It's stronger. Something happened today, something that changed it significantly. His used to be the weakest scan, now his is more like Babette's was."

"See?" Remy said, looking at Logan. He was pleased that Henry had some kind of physical evidence that backed him up. He of course hid how much the sound of Babette's name still hurt. He had a battle to win first. "Set' was sick just like Aiden say."

"Maybe so, but it don't excuse what went on today," Logan replied. "Seth should have asked for help, not gone about it this way."

"No, you right, you right. T'ing is mebbe 'e just nervous an' all wit de way Kim been treated lately."

"I certainly hope that wasn't directed at me," Logan growled, instantly defensive.

"Boys," Henry threatened. He didn't want them to fight. "There's more," he said, trying to change the subject.

"What other good news you got?" Logan snapped, his eyes still glaring at Gambit.

"What happened today was not to Kimble's benefit."

This time, both Remy and Wolverine gave Henry their full attention.

"Kimble's heat signature has been reduced, almost like he and Seth traded places. I cannot explain this, not without further research. Right now Kimble is too trashed for me to do much more than simply watch him. I don't know if this is due to emotional distress or something much worse. I don't know if it is permanent or not. All I know is that Kimble is going to need some real care for a while."

Gambit settled back down, shifting to get more comfortable. "It ain't gonna be a problem, now dat Gambit knows what's goin' on. Gambit's gonna get Kimble and all of dem all straightened out, even Fallen. Once she know what went down, she's gonna be all right. Dey all gonna be all right. You just give him a chance, bien?"

Logan did not believe. "Gotta run it by Chuck. It ain't really up ta me."

"He approves," the Professor said, the whir of his powered wheelchair announcing his arrival. His crisp blue eyes were concerned as he asked, "How are you, Remy?"

"Better now de fille all done torturing me," he answered in a playful tease. Maylee had cleaned his wound and was injecting him with more local anaesthetics before stitching him up. His words were a jaunty cover. He was hurting on more levels that he even knew, but he wasn't going to let it show. He had to keep it together, he had to do it for all of the Siskans. He could crash later.

"Good. You rest a bit and then you'll get your chance. I think you'll get this worked out sooner than anyone else here. I want Karen to assist you."

"P'etetre, dey talk better one on one."

"I insist."

Gambit shrugged. "Si bien. But if dey clam up, it ain't Gambit's fault."

"I've got other things to attend to just now, but Logan and the others will be close by. I'll be back to check on you."

There was a sudden pause as the curtain parted and Molly stood there, her face tight with anger.

Remy nodded at the others. "Mebbe you best leave us alone, mes amis."


	3. Chapter 3

(Three)

The crowd parted and dispersed quickly as Molly entered the small space curtained off around Remy's bed. She had only just been told something had happened and she had made her way down here to the Lab quickly. Once they were alone, she stood over her husband, her face still dark as she sniffed at him, assessing his condition.

"Don' be mad, chere," Remy said softly. Her shine was dark with anger, she was on the edge of being feral. She never took kindly to his being injured.

**_Kimble did this,_** she signed, her movements losing grace in her fury.

"Oui. Don' be mad," he repeated, doing his best to appear as placid as possible as he released vibrations of calm. " 'E didn't do it deliberate."

Molly wasn't budging, she had reached her limit. Too many times her husband had been injured, she was starting to think that some of these rumors about Kimble going off the deep end were true. Kimble was dangerous. He had killed and now Remy was hurt – again. Her ability to forgive was being sorely tested.

"Let me explain," Remy offered, patting the bed next to him. He could read her so well, they were much too close for him not to be on a near telepathic level with her as well.

Molly came closer, taking the offered seat, but she was tense.

Remy took her hand, rubbing it gently. "You know Set' been sick? Been all out of sorts?"

Molly nodded, relaxing from his touch and easy vibrations of comfort.

"Well, today we find out why. 'E gettin' de empathy, just like Kimble and me. It was wiggin' him out, gettin' all out of control. De way to fix dat is for someone wit' de power to come along an' kinda shock you wit' it, give you a big jolt of it. Kimble done dat."

**_He did more than just that. I heard all the yelling._** **_Logan isn't the only one upset about what he did. With all that has happened Warren wants to put Kimble on a sex offender list . I didn't even know we have one here but I guess we do now. _**

Remy blanched a little at that. He had heard some arguing but hadn't paid it all that much mind. He figured this round would go as all the others had -- first came the screaming and yelling, then he would plead for Kimble's sake. He had won more rounds than he had lost but these days Kimble was making it harder and harder. He didn't know if he was going to be able to get Kimble off the hook this time, but he would certainly try.

Remy tucked his feelings away and nodded at his wife, acknowledging the dark swirl in her shine. There was more to what she was saying. She was fully aware of the indiscretions between the pilot and her husband. Maybe they hadn't talked about it since the last time, but there was an accusation hanging there now --- Kimble had fucked up again, this time with someone else. How long before he did he did it again?

"Oui. Kim and Set' took it jus' a little too far. Keep in mind, Set' beg Kimble fo' dis. Set' was sick, even 'Enry got some proof to back it up. 'E t'ought Kim could fix it. Set' beg 'im fo' help and Kim make a choice. He done it to take the sufferin' from 'is brother, it's jus' dat dey took it too far, dere so much love between dem."

_**Like there is between you and Kimble.**_

Remy nodded, not even trying to squirm or evade. He knew better than to hide anything from her, that it would only make this worse. "Oui. Like I told you, what dere was 'tween me an' him it was only ever love. He'd get upset and I'd try to 'elp. Jus' dat we took it too far, de same way Set' and Kim' take it too far now."

Molly shook her head, not quite mollified. **_If something happens once, you can argue that maybe something got out of hand, Remy. But this is twice. This time with how own brother! How sick is that? There has to be blame somewhere. Kimble is not that innocent, no matter how much we love him._** **_He's sick, sick inside his head and in the way that he thinks. _**

Remy was forced to nod again. "Some of dat is true. 'E don't always t'ink de way he should but what folks jus' don't ever seem to understand is dat Kimble was made fo' sex, fo' lovin' people. When 'e care about someone, he just react dat way. When Set' come at him all upset, he react de way 'is programmin' say 'e should. You know we talked about dis before, about how 'e is. Dat ain't never gonna change."

Remy sighed, trying to word this correctly. "De empathy 'ard to control. I gotta fight it every day, just like Kim and de others do. Kimble, when 'e got in 'is mind to help someone, someone 'e care about, it swamp 'im. It got away from him dis time, too. Set' ain't got no restraint either, not even close. Dere's blame for dis on all sides. Aiden explain dat sex don't have to come into it, but none of dose boys was listenin'. Don' 'ate Kim fo' what he do. 'E wasn't alone in dis. Dere's plenty of blame to go around."

Molly nodded, considering his answer. She surprised Remy next by stating what seemed to be obvious to everyone else -- **_If Kimble can't be controlled, Angel should never go back to him._**

Remy closed his eyes, feeling the loss of support of one who had been firmly in Kimble's camp until now. His list of allies was growing thin. "Oui, je sais. But you gotta make me a promise, chere. You can't tell Kimble dis. We can't be takin' away what little hope de boy's got left. He's in bad shape. Real bad, chere. Gambit can fix some t'ings... but mebbe not dis. Not dis time."

Molly sensed his despair, but also his honesty. She moved on, asking, **_Why did he hurt you?_**

"Fallen yell at Kim, den Kim yell at 'imself. I jus' was in de way. De whole t'ing one big disaster. Kimble hurt me, but not deliberate. 'E was jus' lashin' out, blamin' 'imself fo' de whole t'ing when none of it was 'is fault. 'E breakin', chere. 'E breakin' again, an' mebbe dis time dere ain't nuthin' goan stop it," he finished, his fragile facade of control cracking as his voice broke.

Molly reacted quickly, all her anger vanishing at the sight of Remy's ashen face. He hadn't been deliberately manipulating her away from her anger, but his misery worked just the same. She turned and pulled him into her arms, holding him tightly.

Remy sank into that embrace, greedy for it. This he had really needed. This was better than a hundred painkillers. "Oh, my Molly girl. Mon ador'ee. You de sweetest t'ing. Je t'aime, Gambit love you so much!" he whispered and closed his eyes, breathing in her smells.

Molly and Gambit lay on the bed together, quiet now. No words would ever be necessary, their communication existed on a whole other level. His Kundatesh had evolved with their relationship and allowed them a closeness few other couples would ever have. She kissed him and squeezed him until he laughed and she knew he was really okay.

**_I was so scared, _**she signed after a moment.

"Nuthin's gonna 'appen to Gambit, not wit 'is Molly girl to love 'im."

_**Are you ready to go home? **_

"Non. Gambit's got a bad situation 'ere. All de Siskans screwed up bad. Dis time it was Set' dat started it. Go figure, eh? Guess 'e was jealous of all de attention Kimble get. Gotta make de rounds, get dem all straight."

_**How are you going to do that? **_

"No clue, but Gambit's still gotta try. You wanna wait? Don' know how long 'e gonna be. Could be awhile."

_**I'll go now that I know you're okay. I'll get Angel, bring her down after school. **_

"Dat'd be nice. Kimble's gonna need 'er. I love you, baby," he said and gave her another kiss.

She laughed and pulled away, smiling at him as she walked out. He loved her strength, her will. She would never be frail, she would always be there for him. Always. Gambit lay his head back and took a deep breath. So much work, so little time.

------------------------

Gambit hobbled out into the Med Bay's main Recovery Room. As Henry had said, he was back on crutches again, but he tried to make the best of it. Remy was centered now between his four destinations. He could see Seth in one of the nearby beds, curled up under a blanket. Fallen was still seated in Henry's office with the door open so she could look out at him. The two holding cells were full, one Siskan each. Where to begin? He waited half a moment and Karen walked in, taking her place beside him.

"Don't worry," she said when she saw the look of suspicion on his face. "I won't get in your way. I'm here just in case things get out of hand."

He nodded and made his choice. He selected Seth first, he was the most fragile, all things being relative. He made his way to the bedside and pulled up a chair, relieved to be off of his feet. Karen followed him, but leaned against the wall out of view. Seth was balled up, buried under some warm blankets. His eyes were closed and his cheeks still wet from tears. "Hey, buddy," Remy whispered and touched him gently.

Seth opened his eyes and looked at him. His eyes were bloodshot and swollen from crying. "Hey," he greeted in return.

"You feelin' all right, mon petit fils?"

"I guess so."

Remy touched him again and used the Kundatesh to make sure. Seth was exhausted and swamped with guilt over the whole affair, but otherwise okay. Gambit felt Seth shiver from his use of power, and felt an answering vibration from within the young Siskan. It was stronger than he had expected and he hoped Seth wouldn't be afraid. "You feel dat, eh? Gambit won't hurt you."

Seth sniffed and smiled, now perfectly relaxed. "He never does."

"Why didn't you come to me wit dis?"

"I did. I told you it was making me crazy."

"You didn' say nuthin 'bout changin' yo' codes, 'bout you wantin' to fool around wit Kimble."

Seth lowered his eyes, feeling guilty. "Who told you about the codes? Was it Henry?"

"Oui. Don't be mad. 'E was just worried about you."

"It's okay," Seth replied with a shrug. It didn't matter anymore, not after this. He went on to explain, "The thing with Kimble just kind of happened. I was upset and took off. He came after me and tried to make me feel better. It just happened on its own."

"An' when 'e was done wit you?"

"I was better. It was like the door was stuck and he kicked it open. I can see the shines now, Remy. I needed what he did for me. I tried to explain this to Fallen but she just got mad. She thinks Kimble was being mean, but that wasn't it at all."

"Kimble say you promise not to tell."

Seth tucked his head down and lowered his eyes, feeling guilty. "I can't hide anything from her. I thought if I told her the truth up front she wouldn't be so angry. She-- she locked me away in the bathroom and wouldn't let me out! Again! It's not fair!"

"It's all right. She didn't mean it."

"I'm a man, I have rights," Seth whispered softly in anger. "I'm not a dog."

Gambit sighed and gave Seth's head a rub. "You gotta 'ave dat talk wit 'er jus' like Gambit told you. She still t'inkin' you a child. You gotta stand up for y'self, cher. Jus' don' get too carried away. Whatever you t'ink went on t'day, she was jus' protectin' you cause she love you."

"I know she does, it's just that it still hurts. I can't believe she went for Kimble like that. I hope he's gonna be okay. Fallen was so angry...!" Seth shivered again, this time with real fear. "I saw the darkness in her shine. I didn't know what it meant."

Remy smiled sadly and then as best he could, carefully began to do what Kimble had not had time for, explaining about the colors in the shines and what each one meant. He explained as best he could how to build defenses against the vibrations and how a calm and serene mind could be maintained with some patience and hard work. Lessons for life as an empath. Seth listened with rapt attention, his computer driven mind memorizing all of it immediately. He wouldn't forget. He wouldn't make that mistake with his Mistress again.

Gambit saw it, understanding completely. He ruffed Seth's hair and gave him a squeeze, not wanting that fear to come from thoughts of his Mistress. Seth was going to need her to help him get through this new change. "Gambit's gonna talk to 'er. See where she's at. Den he talk to your brother. He gonna be okay, you'll see. Get some rest."

"Thanks. I love you."

Remy smiled at the familiar line. This time Seth sounded like he was the one who really needed to know it so he gave his ritual response and another kiss. "Gambit loves you, too. Sleep now."

----------------------------------

Gambit withdrew and went to his next challenge. Fallen sat smoking in Henry's office and sipped at a cup of coffee, hogging Henry's nice large easy chair. Like Remy, she had played with quitting smoking over these past years, but things just kept getting in the way of it, this seemed as good a time as any to start back up again. What a disaster. Her eyes were red from crying and her wrist was neatly wrapped in a plaster cast.

Remy hobbled in, taking his time as he moved, all the better to get a read on her shine. He could see she was scared and still quite angry. That anger was driven by a sense of guilt too blatant for him to even need to read her shine to see it. She was a lot like him now, left in the lurch while everything had blown up around them, with neither of them seeing it coming. Like him, she was wondering how much of this was her own fault. Just knowing these things made it a little easy for him to know how to approach her, they were on common ground.

Fallen watched him as he came, tracking him with her eyes as he sat down on the edge of Henry's desk. Her posture became instantly defensive, her face hardening as she saw Karen lean in the doorway as well.

Karen wasn't blind. She tried to ease the tension by waving at Fallen with an easy smile as she softly greeted, "Hey, Fallen."

Remy watched as Fallen only nodded at Karen, he could see Fallen was feeling a little cornered. He said gently, "Karen's just here to make sure you an' me don' get all rowdy. We just gonna talk, dat's all. You okay?"

Fallen calmed a little, trying to relax. "Yeah. How is Seth?"

" 'Enry say he okay. He tell you how dis whole t'ing started?"

"No, he didn't," she returned, unable to hide her hostility. It was misplaced guilt but he knew that.

"Well, a while back, when we firs' come here, Set' found a way to alter 'is codes. Said 'e got de idea from de Games Master, but 'e only waited until now to try it. Don' know exactly what 'e was after, but what 'e got was de Kundatesh like Kimble does. 'E seein' de shines now."

"So you say. It sounds like a convenient excuse for Siskan misbehavior," Fallen snapped, her face hard with disbelief.

"It a real t'ing, chere. Gambit's been livin' wit it ever since we come back from Cerise. Kimble give it to me when we share de files. It de same way I know de Siskan. It ain't so easy to live wit. It can be wonderful an' scary all at once."

"That's a lie. If Seth was in that kind of trouble, he would have told me," she argued, not wanting to hear it. To believe would mean that Seth didn't trust her anymore or worse – he no longer loved her.

Gambit grumbled internally at her stubbornness. He wasn't nearly afraid of her enough not to speak his mind. He was still so amazed that Seth could've been that bad off without his Mistress knowing something was wrong. In order to get her to see the whole picture, he had to deflect her share of the blame from Kimble back to her where it belonged. "But 'e didn't. 'E change 'is codes weeks ago, but 'e don' say one word to you. Ever wonder why dat was?" he said in a deliberate taunt.

Fallen's face darkened at the challenge. "That's none of your business."

"Oui, dat's true," Remy agreed readily enough, but he wasn't letting her off the hook. "But it is yours. You don't take dat seriously, you gonna lose him for sure. You so scared Set' gonna break, you gonna break 'im y'self just by holdin' him too tight."

"How do you know so much?" she sneered, her anger not diminished by his boldness. She felt he was talking down to her. She knew Seth well enough without Remy dictating Siskan protocol to her like he did to everyone else.

" 'Ow could I not know? All de Siskans trust me. I ain't never given dem a reason not to."

Fallen glared at him, blasting him with her hurt. She couldn't even speak, she was so angry at the idea that he would know Seth better than her. Just because he thought he knew Kimble didn't mean he knew everything.

Remy saw it but proceeded anyway, hoping to keep this going. "Set' talk to me. 'E say you an' him been 'avin' some trouble lately. You not feelin' so close."

"We're close enough," she snapped, still not liking his tone.

"Really? You de one lockin' 'im up. Ever wonder what dat feels like? Not 'avin' control?"

She glared at him, her face flushing instantly. The fact that his point had merit made it all the more painful. She didn't like being psychoanalyzed like this, even if it was an accurate hit. "It's my duty to protect him. How I chose to do that is my business. I won't see him ruined."

"It look like it gonna 'appen anyways, you not too careful. 'E's changin' and you might not realize it, but 'e's all scared 'e gonna lose you for good. He love you like de world."

"If that were true...he wouldn't have cheated on me," she replied, lowering her eyes. For the first time, her anger receded enough to reveal the deep hurt inside.

Remy reacted to it at once. This he could use to try and make her see what he was so desperately trying to show her. He leaned forward, balancing on his crutches as he reached out to her, willing her to understand. " 'E make a mistake, it don't mean he don't love you, fille."

"I can't...I can't compete with Kimble and Aiden. I'm not a man."

Remy laughed and shook his head. This always happened, folks getting hung up on gender with Siskans. "You been livin' wit Set' for how long and you don' know a t'ing about Siskans, chere?"

She gave him another angry glare. He was back to this again, thinking he knew so much more about Siskans than she did.

Remy saw the rip in her shine and knew what it was. He would have to be careful and work around her resentment. His voice was even and instructive as he began to explain in the most unthreatening voice he could find, "See, dis how it is. Dey ain't no boys, dey ain't no girls. Set' **feel** de Kundatesh. De empathy call to 'im, not what dose boys got 'tween deir legs. Set', he curious, sure. But dat ain't enough to turn 'is head. Not dat by itself. If it was, 'e woulda done dis a long long time ago, n'est ce pas? He was in a jam an' Kimble helped him."

Fallen's face reddened at Remy's defense of his Siskan. "Kimble didn't **_help_** him, he **_fucked_** him! He took advantage of him and raped him. Aiden put him up to it, the bastard," she said, snapping out each word in her anger. "Probably wanted him broken in nice and easy."

Gambit snorted at that, always amazed to what lengths people will go to avoid their own culpability. Even this was a leap he never would have made. "Quoi? You t'ink dis some kinda stupid conspiracy to deflower yo' Siskan? S'il vous plait! Kimble didn't rape nobody. Set' was in pain and since you an' him ain't so close as you t'inkin' ---" Remy barely paused as he saw Fallen's anger surge. At least she was listening to him as he continued, " ...'e begged Kimble to help him. Kimble done it, sure. 'E done it 'cause he love his brother, 'cause Set' was in pain an' he couldn't take it. Aiden didn' 'ave nuthin' ta do wit dis, other dan he worried 'bout Set' goin' t'rough some kinda change he couldn't cope wit. Dere ain't no rapin' goin' on here. You too cruel fo' sayin' dat to Kimble. How stupid could you be? Kimble's gonna break. You can't never 'cuze him of rape, he can't take it. Dat's why 'e shatter in de firs' place!"

"Kimble's just being a baby. He wants the right to do whatever he wants. When he doesn't get his way, he just breaks down because he knows you'll give in to him. He's been doing it for years!" Fallen countered, an icy edge to her voice.

"Dat's not fair. Gambit's been takin' care of him fine."

"Oh? You didn't stop him from killing that girl. Now look at him. He's running all around like some kind of out of control child and when it blows up in his face, here you are trying to get me to admit it was all my fault. Well, it isn't going to happen, mister. Not this time. I know better. Kimble is a child, he can be influenced by anybody who appeals to him the right way! He was with Sabretooth of all people, cried when he thought the man was dead! Who knows what Aiden has done with him, what he's used to screw around with Kimble's head? Well, I'm not taking any chances! Kimble is staying away from Seth and that's final! I won't let him break Seth, no way. If I have to keep Seth away from everyone I will!"

Remy smiled at her arrogantly. "So dat's it, eh? You say Kimble never really broke yet you all scared de same gonna 'appen to Set'. Don't quite make sense to me, fille. Can't 'ave one wit'out de other."

"I will do whatever it takes to keep Seth out of Kimble's madness. That's final," Fallen said, her voice firm and brooking no argument.

Remy wasn't frightened, he changed tack instead, giving voice to those thoughts he'd kept silent for so long. He was nice and direct as he got right to the point. "Would you keep Set' so 'idden away if 'e was a real man?"

"What?" Fallen replied, confused by the change in tack.

"It's a simple question, chere. Would you 'old Set' back if 'e was a real man? If 'e was 'uman?"

"That's not a fair question."

"Of course it is, it just one you ain't never asked y'self, is all. You sit back on yo' high horse and say to everybody dat you don' believe in Siskan ownership yet you didn't t'ink twice 'bout lockin' Set' away in de bathroom. You didn't listen to 'im when 'e begged you to let 'im out."

"He was upset."

"Non. 'E was a man wit feelin's an' you didn't listen to dem. You doin' de same to Kim. You don't see 'im as real, even now."

"That's not true!" Fallen said, but her eyes betrayed her.

"Kimble's pain is as real as 'is soul, chere. You so used to t'inkin' of Set' an' Kim as possessions, not as real men. When you look at dem as real, it change how you act, how you t'ink. What happen today, it all make more sense when you t'ink of it as Kim 'elpin' is brother, not just two Siskans foolin' around. Kim wouldn't 'ave done what he done wit'out good reason, no matter what Aiden tell him. If 'e wanted Set' for just a simple fuck, 'e woulda taken 'im a long time ago."

Fallen turned away, wilting under the weight of Gambit's truths. "I'm sorry."

"It ain't me you should be apologizin' to, hien?" Remy sat back and took out another cigarette, Henry's admonition be damned. He lit it and took a drag before speaking. "Gambit was in de same place as you, not understandin'. An' he was in de same place as Set', wit a door half open. A few days at Trishnar's took care of dat. Got buried under a whole pile of Siskans, empathic Siskans. Got all de Kundatesh he could 'andle. Kicked de door wide open fo' me, just like Set'. It was Aiden dat did it."

"Aiden?" she whispered, looking at Gambit funny now.

"He change to a girl, jus' like Kimble useta do. Made Gambit see, made Gambit understand. No girls, no boys. Just who dey are inside. De Kundatesh like a messenger 'tween us all. We know where we at and it also change 'ow we t'ink about t'ings. Set' wasn't cheatin' on you, not in 'is mind. He was askin' fo' 'elp an' Kim gave it to 'im. Dat's all."

Fallen started to cry again, her face crinkling in anger. "Kimble knows better. He knew this would hurt me."

"Yeah, he know. But he love 'is brother, too. 'E make a choice. Set' begged him, Fallen. Both of dem tell me dis and de Kundatesh, too. Can't lie wit de Kundatesh, it jus' ain't possible. If you really love de boy, an' I t'ink you do, try to forgive 'im. Forgive dem both fo' bein' chil'ren dat make a mistake."

She broke down and he got up awkwardly to hug her, silently cursing the throb in his leg. She fell against him and he soothed her. He let her feel a vibration of comfort, just enough to prove his own words. She shuddered and gripped him even more tightly. He laughed a little and reached into his pocket. He handed her a couple of morsels of chocolate. "Dis de language all Siskans understand. You go give dis to Set' an' den you give de other to Kimble. Your boys need you, Fallen."

He gave her one more. "An' if you brave enough, you can give dis one to Aiden. He don' mean no 'arm to nobody. He all broke up inside like Kimble was. De two of dem just tryin' to feel deir way around. Gambit's gonna talk to him firs', get him square before you try. He didn' mean to cause no trouble."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I know 'cause I know Aiden. Besides, did 'Enry tell you about de scans he make?"

Fallen nodded. "Yes. He said Seth has been changed."

"Dat's right. Dis isn't all made up stuff, chere. Aiden saw Set' was sick. De only mistake Aiden make was in not trustin' any of us humans to 'elp him. 'E went to dose 'e he knew best. 'E went to Kimble and Kimble only tried to do what he t'ought would help. Maybe 'e go about it de wrong way, but 'Enry say Set's scans de better for it.

"I know you don' trust Aiden, but just look at him wit yo' eyes, feel 'im wit yo' heart, chere. He just another lost boy, dat's all. One more fo' Gambit's collection."

Fallen nodded, giving in to his logic or at least was too tired to fight about it any more, and hugged him in thanks. She left him and slowly made her way to Seth's bed. She hugged her Siskan and he grabbed onto her tightly, ending any fears Remy might have had of him rejecting his Mistress. Seth needed her so much and now she was here and no longer angry. Nothing had frightened him so much as that.

"You're very good," Karen commented to Remy when Fallen was out of range. "I have no idea why Logan thought you would need my help."

Remy just smiled at her. "Ain't been to see Kimble an' Aiden yet. Dey de ones gonna give me de mos' trouble."

"After you, then."


	4. Chapter 4

(Four)

Gambit got his crutches and made his way to door number three, one of the holding cells that Henry kept in the Lab. Kimble was inside. Remy scanned his hand and went in. These cells were padded and had no furniture. Only a small toilet sat in one corner, the one thing Kimble didn't need. The man himself was sitting in the center of the small room, facing away from the door. He had drawn his knees up to his chest, his arms hugged around his legs to keep them up close. He looked small and very, very tired. He had been washed and given fresh clothes. Kimble was calm now, just sitting quiet with his head down.

"You okay now, cher?" Remy asked tentatively.

Kimble nodded, but stayed as he was, his back to the thief.

Gambit shuffled in, making a point of moving into Kimble's view. He nudged Kimble's foot with the boot of his crutch. "Talk to me, fils."

Kimble wouldn't raise his head, but said clearly in a flat toneless voice, "Sorry bouts yer leg. I didn't ever means ta hurts ya."

"Je sais. You never do, I always know dat."

Kimble was quiet in a very Aiden like stance and after a minute of continued silence Remy realized that just like that, the conversation seemed to be over. That may have been Kimble's intention, but it wasn't his own. "What 'appen 'ere? What make you go wit Set' today?"

Kimble raised his head then and looked into Remy's face with a kind of placid, dead anger. "I already explained alla that with yous. He wuz sick. I made it better. Why do ya always asks me the same fuckin' questions over an' over again when I already answered ya?"

Remy blinked, startled by the rudeness of the question. Kimble's shine was still dull and less than it had been before he had left with Seth. It was also a static blank, something he should have noticed earlier but hadn't until now. Something was very wrong here, it was too much like Babette's had been. "Je suis de'sole, cher. Just making sure you said all dere was to say."

The Siskan nodded. "Well, I said all there is ta say."

Remy sighed. "Well, you know de folks here are all upset 'bout what went on. Dey don' understand." Gambit's eyes flicked up to Karen who stood in the doorway. "P'etetre you can explain it so dey know what you was t'inkin'."

"They already gots it all figgered out," Kimble replied sharply. He was aware that Karen was there, but quite frankly, no longer gave a shit about her or anything else. His voice was a tight snarl as he mimicked in a childish sneer, "Kim's gone an' molested someone again. Raped his own brother, the sick fuck. Now we knows we done the right thing, takin' his Angel aways. Best not be givin' her back – not now, not never again. Let's just puts him on the sex offender list with alla the other perverts and fuck ups. Keeps him locked up ferever!"

Remy scowled. "No one sayin' dat, cher. No one's lockin' you up."

Kimble's eyes followed where Remy's had gone, looking right at Karen. "Uh, huh. Shure. Heard Logan sayin' it already out there in the hallway with that other guy what has wings, seen it in their shines. There ain't gonna be no understandin' where there ain't never been."

Remy raised his voice, drawing Kimble's attention back to him and away from Karen. "It ain't all up to Karen or Logan alone. You been in a jam b'fore, we worked it out. Course, dis time you really got me workin' overtime, buddy. It don't mean I can't work sumptin' out."

Kimble snorted rudely, a perfect imitation of Aiden's most popular sound. "Don' bother."

Remy looked at him sharply, squinting his eyes. "What does dat mean?"

Kimble regarded him with that same blank fury. "It means I'm all done talkin' ta yous or anabody else. This is it, I'm done. Y'all win. I'm quittin'."

Remy raised an eyebrow, confused by the change in tack. "Quittin' what?"

"All I ever wanted ta do wuz makes people happy. It wuz all I wuz made fer, an' I always thought I wuz good at it, y'know? All I ever wanted ta be wuz be good. A good person, a good lover, a good brother, a good father."

Gambit was reeling, not sure what Kimble was getting at. Where was all this coming from and where was it going? "You done a great job makin' folks happy, Kim. You a good father, le meilleur, de best, cher. Angel couldn't have no better."

Kimble's face didn't change at the compliment. "If that wuz true, they wouldn't have tooks her from me. Now what do I haves ta be good at? Everathin' I tried, I jus' fucked up. I ain't gots nuthin' left inside 'a me ta gives, kin ya even understand that? It wuz all just a lie, the idear that I could do anathin' right, that I could be a good Courtesan, the way Quishnalay mades me."

"Quishnalay didn't do nuthin fo' you, fils. It was all Sheyman and you done a good job for him, too. He was never 'appier, dat's de truth."

"Sheyman's dead," Kimble replied in his deadpan voice. "I couldn't saves him. I couldn't saves Seth or Angel."

Remy cocked his head. "Save dem from what?"

"From me! That's why I gots ta quit. I cain't be whole, I cain't be broke. I cain't be no father, no brother, no lover proper. Cain't be Siskan, cain't be human. Cain't be some freak in b'tween. Nuthin' I do is never right by nobody, sos ya know what? Y'all win, okay? I quit, this time fer good. I'm done. It's over!"

"Sounds ta me like you spent a good long time on dat speech. Made real good use of de time spent waitin' on me to come along an' 'ear it," Remy replied, his voice tight with his own anger. He was furious that for the umpteenth time he was having this conversation with Kimble. The Siskan gave up so easily all the time, it was so much easier than actually facing a problem and taking it head on. Kimble was stronger than this, the pilot just didn't know it. Gambit didn't have the will to control his sarcasm as he continued. "It was real special. Too bad life don't work like that, cher."

Kimble's response was an ugly sneer, a look that Remy associated with Zander, an expression that had never looked right on that beautiful face. "Really?" the pilot said with a bitter laugh. "Since when do you gits ta make up alla the rules, huh? This time I'm makin' up some of m' own."

"What you mean?" Remy questioned and started forward, but was forced to halt when Kimble suddenly raised both hands and conjured up his sword. The blade was always a shock coming up out of nowhere like that. It gleamed in the half light, crystalline and wickedly sharp. Gambit stood up straight, giving the pilot his full attention, he had no clue what Kimble intended to do. "Whoa, dere, Kim. Dere ain't no need fo' dat."

Kimble flicked his wrist and orange flames came to life and raced up the edge of the blade.

Karen cried out softly, but Remy held up a hand, asking for patience. It didn't stop him from taking a step back, yes indeedy. Never had this weapon been raised against him and frankly, seeing it like that scared the living piss out of him. Too many times he'd seen Kimble use this weapon to kill, each time burned forever into his memory. Still, he couldn't imagine Kimble, his Siskan, using this sword against him, not like this. "Espe're, Kim. Wait jus' a minute."

Apparently, it was the retreat Kimble desired. When Remy had stepped far enough back, Kimble doused the flames quickly and then used his telekinetic power to spread the material of the blade he'd made. He flattened it, expanding it with more and more material, turning it into something else. He created more and more of the shield it was constructed of until it formed a large clear bubble, one he had wrapped around himself, forming a small room around his body.

Gambit couldn't help but be slightly awed and mesmerized by the sight. He knew Kimble could make barriers and the spikes, but this was much larger than most things Kimble had made. His execution of the bubble was perfect, another sign that Kimble was so much more than he seemed. So much talent wasted, so much more the Siskan could have been if only he wasn't brought down by his overblown feelings and excessive childish reactions to normal everyday stress.

Kimble was silent as he formed his bubble, but just before it sealed itself completely around his body, he looked up at Remy and said in a childlike whisper, in a voice that Remy thought he would never hear again, _**"Times fer us ta goes now,"**_ said tiny Lin, grabbing control for the first time since Kimble had supposedly been repaired. He had spoken in Siskan, a true trademark of this small and fragile personality. The Confessor cared nothing about the look of shocked horror on their former Master's face, he simply continued on, _**"We gots a small space now, a place ta keeps it all safe and quiet. Kim knew this had ta happen, that it just wuzn't safe fer nobodys no more, not from us. He couldn't be trusted not to hurts no one no more so it's up ta me now ta takes care of us and keeps you all safe. Tells Aiden none of this wuz his fault. He knows, but sometimes he just has ta hears it. We's sorry, Remy. Sorry fer everathin's. G'bye."**_ And with that, Lin closed his eyes and sealed the bubble, shutting himself away from a world that had only ever caused him pain.

"Kimble!" Remy shouted, the spell broken, stunned and disbelieving what he had just seen happen. First Zander and now Lin? This wasn't possible! So much for what the Games Master had done. He wanted a refund on that repair! This couldn't be happening, not now, not after everything they had been through together.

Remy dropped his crutches as he stumbled forward in fear. He caught himself on the large bubble, shocked to discover just how hard and crystalized it was. This was the same dense substance that Kimble's spikes were made of and not easily damaged. Lin had wanted to isolate Kimble away from the world and had done it with startling ease, leaving Remy alone on the outside. Lin used to cower under blankets and under the bed, looked like he had now found himself something better. A second later, the shield frosted up and hardened, concealing the pilot within and leaving only a strange Kimble sized globe on the floor. Remy freaked at that, shouting all the louder, "Don' you do dis! Kimble!"

Karen had watched the whole thing with a kind of detached horror. It had happened too quickly and was over before she had any thought to interfere. "Remy, please. Calm down," she said, more out of habit of calming the distressed than having a solution. "Just think this out."

"Kimble, listen to me, s'il vous plait," Remy tried, calming down as ordered. He continued to plead to the solid wall of Kimble's globe, stroking it as if he thought Kimble could feel it. "What 'appen, it wasn't yo' fault, nobody say you done nuthin' wrong. 'Enry, 'e got scans sayin' what you done was helpin' Set'. Yo' brother, 'e strong now, strong like 'e need to be. If anyone done sumptin' wrong it was me, not seein' dat Set' was in trouble so badly. I had m' mind on other t'ings and 'e got left behind. But it don' matter, d'accorde? Set', 'e's okay. So come on out, cher. Stop dis!"

There was no reply from within, no movement.

"Remy, let him go. Maybe he just needs time," Karen offered. "Maybe... maybe it's time to just let him go."

Remy glared at her, scandalized by her words, his face flushing instantly. "Quoi? Get out!" he snarled, happy to take his frustration out on someone else.

She crossed her arms. "Just take it easy. This is no big deal. Let him be quiet for a while."

Gambit shook his head, feeling a kind of panic rise. His mind was working fast, worrying over a great many things, but most of all, recalling the strange static grey of Kimble's shine when he came in here. He realized now that this event was just the finale in a long series of breaks, something that had begun from the moment Kimble thought Angel lost to him forever.

Kimble had known just what he was going to do this time, he'd waited for Remy to come in so he could say goodbye. Whatever Karen was thinking, this was not an ordinary time out, not by far. His other selves had made an appearance, why not Lakotashay next? The one who had been so terribly destructive. She could be in control there right now, bleeding out the body like Babette had done. By the time they got this off of Kimble it would be too late. Remy ignored the woman in the doorway and slapped the hard surface of the bubble, sending out a large vibration of frustration. "Kimble, you come out of dere dis instant!" he howled with fatherly outrage. "I'll get Cyke in 'ere to blast dis shit offa you, I swear! Come out!"

There was no response from within.

**_/ Remy, calm down, _**Shi'ow-ri whispered. **_/ Take it easy. Breathe. If he was killing himself in there you would feel it. /_**

Gambit was furious with panic, overheating now. He removed his coat, tossing it aside with a frustrated curse. He closed his eyes and reached out with his hands again, sliding them over the surface of the sphere. It was harder to read his Siskan with the barrier, but he could still feel Kimble in there. He was sitting as he had been, deathly still and quiet. Sleeping or something like it. Didn't mean Remy was happy with it.

"Zandy? Mon ami? You in dere? Give a boy a hand will ya? Come on!" he tried next, pleading to the Punisher, a former ally in the past. But again, nothing happened.

"Fine den," Remy snarled and gave the shield a charge, hoping to break a hole in it. Oddly enough, it simply absorbed his energy without actually charging. It just sucked it up and laughed at him by being unaffected at all. "Aw, come on!" Gambit complained irritably, losing the small amount of control he had regained. "Kimble!"

"What's wrong? Is that Kimble?"

Remy looked up to see Fallen standing in the doorway next to Karen now, her face crinkled in confusion. "Oui, Kim's in dere. 'E just bein' stubborn," he replied, his face now quite red with anger. He was looking at her so unpleasantly, the unspoken message clearly conveyed without the need for vibrations. _Are you happy now?_ Remy so wanted to ask, to accuse. It crossed his face in an ugly band of rage, but the words never crossed his lips.

Fallen saw it and nervously stepped back.

"Oh, non you don'," Remy snarled, pointing at her. "You come right over 'ere an' you tell 'im you fo'give 'im! You do it right now!"

She nodded and came forward, sitting with an awkward stiffness. She lay her hands on the bubble, startled by how hard and solid it was. This was awkward and strange, but she leaned forward and said in a stiff halting manner, "I'm sorry, Kimble. I - I was upset and didn't think. I-I forgive you. Come on out. Seth- Seth needs you." She had obeyed, but the truth be told, it hadn't been sincere. It was too soon, she was still too upset to really mean it.

It didn't matter, if Kimble had heard her, he gave no sign. The sphere stayed as it was.

Remy put his head down, running out of options. He felt Karen's hand on his shoulder. "It's over, Remy. Let him go. He's just had enough, and you know what? This was bound to happen sooner or later. You did all you could."

"Did I?" he tossed back at her, angry. He glared at Fallen as he wiped at his face. "You stay 'ere. Sit wit 'im. I'm goin' to get Aiden. Maybe 'e can help me bring him out."

-----------------------

Gambit stood in the doorway of Aiden's cell and cursed softly in frustration. He took out his gum and slid a piece into his mouth. This was going to be ugly, he could see it already.

Aiden sat in a corner of his padded cell, his clothes tossed off in a "fuck you" to the prudish humans around him. His damaged arm had been bandaged to make him more comfortable, if it was bothering him, he gave no sign. Both of his hands lay in his lap, quiet. He was awake, Gambit could see his eyes moving to track him as he came to the door. Other than that, he was completely still, a mournful frown the only evidence that he was aware of the great trouble he was in.

What the thief hadn't been aware of, of course, was that frown was the result of a savage chewing out the Dreamer had just received from Father only moments before.

Father had been livid at how badly this day had gone. He had paced and stomped his feet, smacking his fist into his hand as he vented on poor Aiden.

_How could you have been so stupid, Dreamer? How many times have I told you that this love affair with Kimble was so dangerous to our plan? I warned you that the distraction was too great! Not content with that, you interfere between Seth and his Mistress as well! How could you have not foreseen that it would only end in disaster!_

Broken and dejected, Aiden had no response. Father was right of course, as he always was, and now things were a complete mess.

The ghostly man continued to pace. _Love is foolish and unnecessary. It only leads to trouble and who knows this better than you? If not for Krishnak's foolish addiction to that pathetic creature Tillamay, we would never have ended up in Meckland's lab! It was her death that broke the hold Krishnak had on the body. Kain killed Greedock and then we were sentenced to a torture worse than any Muzla fighting ring had ever provided!_

"**_Zat waszn't my fault,"_ **Aiden whispered softly in the Muzla tongue. **_"We are creaturesz made for love. 'Ow can we not be susceptible to it'sz lure? It isz our nature. Krishnak needed Tillamay, she remind 'im what it wasz like to be alive, not ze walking dead wit not'ing inside. No one could forszee Greedock'sz diszpleasure. Meckland wasz not my fault."_**

Father scowled, not wanting to hear these truths. They didn't help his cause and so were discarded. _It doesn't matter, the end result was the same --- disaster in the name of love and passion. It all leads to ruin. Now Kimble has collapsed and we have no way of getting close to Angel. We cannot protect her from Jael if we are never allowed to be where she is._

"**_I will try to fix disz, me," _**the Dreamer replied, but there was no strength in this statement. Things had never looked so hopeless as they were now. Now more than ever he longed for Asher and his wisdom.

_Please! _Father snorted. _You're always looking for rescue. Time to grow up, Dreamer. We have to resolve this ourselves. Time to put childish matters aside and do what needs to be done._

"**_An' what isz dat?" _**Aiden asked, unable to keep the anger and insult from his voice.

_Time to kiss ass and start following their rules. It's the only way to succeed._

"_**An' what of Keemble?"**_

_He will be fine on his own. You know he is in no danger even now. Fix this Dreamer. **Fix this now!** The thief is at your door, it's now or never. Get with the program or give it all up. Fight or fuck, Dreamer. Which is it going to be?_

-------------------------------

Gambit scanned his hand and quietly entered the cell, watching those pale green eyes track him though the body slumped so dejectedly in the corner did not move. Gambit hobbled to the opposite corner from where Aiden lay, into the Siskan's field of sight just as he had with Kimble. Remy was anxious and nervous about Kimble, but had the patience to know Aiden had to be handled carefully. He began by asking, "You all right, fils?"

Aiden was silent, but the frown was slowly replaced by his trademark arrogant half made smile, his mask of indifference to this world and everyone in it.

Remy wasn't the least bit fooled by it. "You an' me, we 'ave dis discussion b'fore, hien? Bein' all quiet ain't gonna 'elp you. Kimble needs you, but I can't let you outta 'ere 'til you talk to me."

No response.

Gambit slid the note from Babette out of his pocket. "You know about Babette?"

For the first time, Aiden really moved. He blinked and said in a hoarse whisper, "She'sz dead. Aiden szee 'er facze in ze deszert, me. Ze Kundatesh never lie."

"She leave you dis."

Gambit started to walk over, but collided painfully with an invisible barrier. Aiden had surrounded himself with a transparent shield, something Remy hadn't been aware that Aiden could do. Just because a telekinetic could make spikes didn't mean he could make barriers as well. Aiden was showing his hidden talent with the firm notion that he wasn't going to let anyone close to him. The holding cells could contain a mutant, but it wouldn't stop them from using their powers within. Normally, restraining collars were used as a secondary precaution. Thing was, the collars didn't work on Siskans. This is why it was always so dangerous in here like this, especially when confronting the ones who knew how to throw spikes. Gambit sighed with impatience and dropped the note on the edge of the barrier where the Siskan could reach it.

Aiden made no move to retrieve it, but said, "She ze only one in disz worl' who never 'urt me."

"Je suis de'sole. She was a beautiful person," Remy agreed sadly. "Gambit's gonna miss her." Aiden had nothing more to say.

Remy didn't have the will or the patience to play any more games so he simply blurted out, "Kimble in a terrible jam, cher. Lin come out an' shut de boy down. 'E need you."

Aiden turned his head away, a bright black spike of resentment swirling through his shine. He knew this already of course, the wall he leaned against was one Kimble shared. He'd been close enough to hear the previous conversation. Kimble had broken down, closed himself off, a state Aiden had been in once before when things had just gotten too bad, when he had been overloaded. Aiden knew that Kimble was probably just fine in the little bubble, he could come out if he elected to, it would be a matter of choice. He would come out when he was ready. For the moment, Aiden wasn't too worried. Given enough time he felt he could lure Kimble out if he didn't come out on his own. It seemed the thief here was less than patient.

"You 'ear me?"

"You break 'im, you fix 'im," Aiden snorted without facing him.

"I t'ought you loved him," Remy threw out, trembling with anger. This was going from bad to worse. He was certain he needed Aiden's cooperation to bring Kimble around. Looked like he wasn't going to get it for free. What a surprise.

Aiden made another derisive sound, still turned away to the corner. His voice dripped with hate and malice as he said, "You t'ink you all szo fucking szmart. All you **Chuckfet **ze szame. You want usz when you want usz and zen after dat... Heh, it'sz all about your rulesz, your way of life. Never --- not a one of you ever t'ink about what it'sz like to be one of usz. You never let a Sziszkan be a Sziszkan, den you wonder we all szo broken. Fuck you!"

Remy just gave him an irritated smile, doing his best to hide just how much that had hurt. He had an idea where some of that misplaced anger was coming from. "Y' know, Gambit spend a lot of time t'inkin' 'bout you. Used to wonder why it was dat when we was at Trishnar's, you never speak de Siskan so Gambit an' Trishnar could understand you. Lookin' back on it, it so obvious I gotta wonder if Trishnar 'imself know de reason."

Aiden was looking at him now, his lips creased into a thin white line. He was filled with crazy angry emotion and trying miserably to hide it.

Remy wasn't about to be intimidated. He continued, "You know many languages, n'est ce pas? Babette tell me you speak Siskan to 'er, in private, when you t'ought it was safe. Yet you speak some other language all de other times, sumptin' no one else could understand. You done dat on purpose. I didn't understand it den, but I sure as heck do now. I figured it out, comprenez? You didn' speak de Siskan or de Dognan to anyone 'cept Babette 'cause if you did, you'd be callin' Trishnar **Master** every time you saw 'im, eh? Just bein' polite an' all in conversation."

Remy's voice changed, dripping with saccharine sweetness as he imitated Aiden with near accuracy. " 'Ow you doin', Maszter? Dere anyt'ing Aiden can do fo' you, Maszter? You want ano'der blow job, Maszter? Need yo' toilet cleaned? Yo' aszz kisszed?", dat sorta t'ing, eh? T'ing is, you never wanted to call nobody Master. Dat's what it is. Nobody ever de **Master** of you."

Aiden's face cracked into an arrogant sneer, his mask of contempt only confirming Remy's guess. Still he said nothing.

Gambit chuckled wryly, claiming victory. "You still playin' yo' stupid games. You doin' dat while Kim's in there all shattered. Mebbe de one who should fuck off is you."

"Wit'out true freedom, it don't matter what Keem feelsz, what 'isz sztate of mind isz!"

Remy blinked in surprise, not understanding Aiden's strange take on things. "Quoi? Kim 'as freedom."

Another snort of disgust as the Dreamer turned away once more. "Disz converszation isz over."

Gambit sighed with impatience, leaning against the wall. He shook his head as he said, "Y' know Kimble was de same as you when he first come to live wit us. So angry, so hurt all de time. He 'ave a 'ard time wit de rules. Took 'im a long time to fall in wit us, get it all worked out. He take de long way when de short way was easy enough.

"Let me 'elp you. Let me educate you. Siska is gone, Aiden. Yo' time wit de Muzla is done. Whatever happen dere, dose rules, dose ways of livin' are gone, comprenez? Dis stupid war you got goin' --- dis 'us an' dem', 'Siskan 'gainst de **Chuckfet' **t'ing --- it ain't gonna fly round 'ere, it ain't gonna accomplish what you want. It ain't gonna make you 'appy. It ain't gonna bring Kimble back from de 'ole 'e just dropped 'imself into."

Aiden shivered and closed his eyes, fighting this. He'd heard similar words before, spoken from a Siskan blessed with true wisdom. Asher had been a good friend, but he was gone now. Him and Babette. Words couldn't help him now.

Remy saw he wasn't getting anywhere. "What is it you want, Aiden? Tell me!"

Aiden turned to look at him. "Aiden wantsz to be free."

"You want peace? You wanna stay 'ere an' not be livin' in a box? D'accorde, cher, but it go like dis, hein? It real simple, so simple even a tete dure like you can understand. Don't hit, don't be fightin' when some words outta yo' mouth be good enough. Dat an' don't be screwin' around wit de ones who don' belong to you. Ever!

"Set' tryin' ta make 'is way as one of us, not a Siskan. What you are is not always who y'are. It's cool you wanna 'elp 'im, but now it up to someone else. You speak yo' mind when you got an idea 'bout sumptin, not workin' 'round de back of us. You sent Kim to 'elp Set' when it should'ave been 'Enry or someone else an' look at what you got out of dat. What de 'ell were you t'inkin? Set' a child, he too fragile. A lot of pain didn' 'ave to 'appen 'ere today."

"Aiden tell you szomet'ing wasz wrong wit' Szet'. You did not liszten!"

"Really?" Gambit challenged sharply. "Tell me when exactly you say to me Set' was in **Shemusk** and dat 'e need a Kundatesh boost to get 'im out of it? 'Eh? What's dat, fils? Oh dat's right. You **_didn't!_**"

Aiden shivered and looked away early, not wanting to hear it. He knew Remy was right in his way, he hadn't been direct in saying Seth was sick, but any idiot could have seen what was going on with Seth as far as he was concerned. This was just more **Chuckfet** bullshit from a Kundatesh blessed human too weak to understand. It didn't stop the hurt, a tear leaked out of one eye before he could stop it. Another sign of weakness.

Remy saw it, felt something break inside. It was so hard to talk to these strange children. They were hopelessly stubborn and their idea of rules and conduct was so skewed. What were the human Siskans thinking when they made these 'grams? How dare they screw around with artificial intelligence like this when their own logic was so terribly flawed?

Gambit sighed and tried reaching out again. "Look, it's okay. You make a mistake. It all over now. Set' not de only one 'urtin', Gambit ain't dat blind. You gotta stop hidin' your pain, you can't be shuttin' us all out like dis. Babette yo sister, yo' family. I know de pain terrible for you. Let me 'elp you. Gambit's never hurt you and he ain't goin' to. It just ain't in m' heart, you know dis. You gettin' me?"

Aiden said nothing, refusing to let Remy's supplication sway him. It was lies, all of it. Had been from day one. Remy was just like them, the **Chuckfet.** He was the enemy. Aiden looked him full in the eye, blasting him with his hurt and anger. Zander's eyes. He was enraged but perfectly still and quiet. A bomb just waiting for a place to go off.

"Help me, Aiden," Remy said, trying to swallow all that anger down like a sick jagged pill, the empathy making this nearly excruciating. "Kimble a mess. 'Elp me 'elp 'im, sil vous plait!"

Before Aiden could respond, there was a ripple in the air, a distraction only he could see. _It's now or never, Dreamer,_ Father said, ghosting into view. _I know this wasn't your fault, it's theirs, but we can use this to help both us and Kimble._ _Turn this mess to your advantage._

The Dreamer nodded and said softly, "Aiden will 'elp you, me, but wit conditions."

Remy stood still. He'd seen the movement of Aiden's eyes, the slight nod to no one, and recognized it for it was. Despite any of his comments to the contrary, Aiden was still broken. "Who you talkin' to, cher? Is it Father, dis chile Talalanay? Non, cher. Dis between you an' me."

"You want my 'elp or not?" Aiden challenged, refusing to answer.

"Oui, Gambit needs yo' 'elp. What you want?"

"Aiden wantsz out. Aiden wantsz Keemble out. We bot' get out. No more disz szeparation of Keemble an' 'isz child. We all of usz go living at Keemble'sz plazce. Bot' of usz and Anjel. We can take care of ourszlevesz and 'er. We are not chil'ren, we are men. We will szee 'er szafe better zan any of you **Chuckfet**!"

"I can't give you dat, cher. And you know it."

Aiden turned away with a snarl. "Den it mattersz not what Keemble do. 'E closze 'isz eyesz forever, ze Game isz done. Jael already won. Go. Go away an' never return. Aiden will not szpeak wit you again."

Gambit felt his rage surge. "Dat's not fair. 'Elp me!"

Aiden didn't move, his eyes were turned away, sightless, much as Kimble had done. His shine was still active, though. He was waiting. They were still negotiating.

Remy growled, hating manipulation as much as anything else. Aiden's demands were impossible, they would never be granted. He would just have to find another way. "What you want, it ain't never gonna 'appen. Deal wit it. I know you want to 'elp Kimble. When you ready t' talk, you let Gambit know. 'Till den, you gotta stay in 'ere. See you 'round."

He left, but as he walked out, he heard a soft cry behind him. Now outside the cell, Gambit turned back and saw that Aiden wasn't responding to what he'd said. Aiden had shut Remy out of his mind, dismissing the thief before he'd even made it to the door. No, what Aiden had reacted to was the note. As Remy had walked out, Aiden had picked up the note Babette had written and now was reading it. As his eyes traveled over her words of farewell, Aiden broke down into painful, wracking sobs, the great big gasping kind that only true loss brings. He slumped to one side, curling up into a ball with the note squashed to his chest as he bawled out his misery into the floor.

"Aiden!" Remy called out, his heart breaking to hear Aiden break down. This was no ploy to garner attention or sympathy from him over Kimble. The Dreamer was deeply wounded by Babette's suicide, he felt responsible for her and so blamed himself, it was all there in his shine for Remy to see. He hadn't been able to save David. He hadn't been able to save Trishnar and now Babette was gone. What was there left for him? Aiden was strong, had always come off that way, now it was horrible to watch him collapse like that. Remy tried to re-enter the cell, but Aiden still blocked him. "Aiden, let me 'elp you! Dammit!"

No good. He wasn't going to let anyone in. Gambit dropped his head down and growled. He was exhausted and in pain, he didn't have the patience for this. Karen put a hand on his shoulder. "Get some rest and try again later."

Remy snarled something incomprehensible and turned away from her, from his Siskans. He kept moving, turning his back to her and went down the hall, hobbling as fast as his damaged leg would allow, his head down and his shoulders slumped in fury.


	5. Chapter 5

(Five)

"Where is he?"

Wolverine looked up from his reports at the sound of Charles Xavier's voice. Logan had brought his laptop down here from his office to get some quick work done while keeping an eye on things here in the Lab. He hadn't expected the Professor back so soon, but still had heard the man coming, mechanized chairs did not make for stealth. With everything that had been going on outside this place, Charles had been quite busy. He'd left to attend to some business but as promised, had now returned to the Lab for an update.

"Gonna hafta be more specific, Chuck. We ain't all mindreaders, ya know," Logan teased with gruff humor.

"Where is Remy?"

"He's in the waiting room with Karen. He didn't make out so well with the kids, he's takin' it kinda hard. He's in there tryin' ta regroup."

Charles nodded and made his way to the waiting room. This room was annexed off of the main Lab for better privacy and had a couple of sofas with small tables. The door was half closed for privacy, but the Professor sensed the two people in there well enough. Remy was trashed, quietly sulking and simmering on a small sofa while Karen tried to soothe him. She wasn't doing so well, Remy was politely but stubbornly ignoring her every attempt to comfort him.

Charles gently bumped the door, announcing his arrival. Karen looked relieved to see him, but Remy was a static blank, never a good sign. "I came to see how you were doing," the Professor said, addressing the poor exhausted thief.

Remy was slouched sidways on the sofa, a hand over his eyes. He wouldn't look at his mentor but said, "Je suis bien. I'm okay."

Karen rose, obviously in a rush to get out of there. "I'll leave you two alone." She smiled and left as quickly as possible, shutting the door behind her.

Charles wheeled a little closer. "I heard you had some trouble."

"No more dan usual. Dey'll come around. Dey always do," Remy said with more enthusiasm than he felt. The way he figured it, there was no way out of this pit he'd been tossed into. On the other hand, how could it possibly get worse? It could only get better, right? He was barely hanging on and wasn't sure how he could possibly pull this off.

The Professor was far too wise not to see it. He started with the basic questions, trying get his X-man back at ease. "How is Seth?"

"Bien. Fallen took him home. He'll sleep better dere."

"Why don't you explain to me what happened today."

Remy nodded and went through the morning's events, explaining Seth's condition and how he'd missed it. Kimble had been selected by Seth for the cure and then all hell broke loose. Somehow in the mix of all of this Babette had taken her own life, right on cue. Just in time to fuck this up all the more.

Gambit had foreseen none of this and he was now taking all the blame for the whole thing, that he should have prevented it somehow. Remy was calm as he spoke, but it was a facade. The Professor couldn't help but notice the shake in Remy's hands, though the thief did his best to hide it. He was wiped out and deeply in pain, both emotionally and from his injury. Remy had a high tolerance for pain as did all the senior staff, but he'd had more than his share for one day.

Charles listened to the story Remy gave him, matching it up with what Aiden had written. Of course he had taken the time to read most of the files that Seth had provided, he had trouble enough figuring Kimble out, he needed all the help he could get with the newcomers. He nodded and asked, "How do you know this **Shemusk** is a real condition and not one of Aiden's invention?"

Remy shrugged, having wondered that himself. "I don't, but I know Set' was sick and dat 'e's better now. 'Enry's got de scans to prove it. Whatever Kimble did, it helped him."

"But at what cost?"

Remy didn't answer that, it was impossible. Instead he reached into his pocket for a fresh stick of gum. Again his mind flashed with a hot desire for a cigarette, but he knew better than to smoke with the Professor here. His voice was soft yet strong as he spoke, " 'Member back when Kim firs' come to be wit us? How screwed up I was for a while?"

"Yes, all too well."

"Well, when I ended up in N'awlins after my papa died, I ran into Trishnar and 'is kids. Don't know exactly what they done to me, but I was better after, I really was."

"Aiden makes mention of this in his diary."

Remy shuddered a little. He was a private man and disliked the fact that some of his intimate affairs were now out in the system for the clever to find and read.

"All your secrets are safe with me, Remy," Charles assured, sensing this. "As a telepath, I am well trained in tight lips. I couldn't be where I am without that particular talent."

Remy nodded, popping his gum as a nervous habit. It wasn't really Charles' discretion he was worried about, others could have access to that file and the rest of what Aiden'd had to say. "Anyways, de upside bein' dat Aiden 'elped me out. I can't blame all dis on 'im."

"Kimble is easily swayed by those around him."

"If dat was true, why Gambit have so much trouble convincin' him he ain't so bad?" the thief tossed out in irritation, his eyes flashing with barely restrained self hatred. He wasn't happy to be here having this conversation. He didn't like the low thread of accusation that hung in the air, he was feeling much too guilty to just shrug it off.

The Professor sighed, not wanting to argue. "Look, all I want to know is if you can still control these Siskans. There is too much going on without worrying about their antics. You know how bad it's been outside after Jael's last stunt. The rioting and violence is growing worse. So many mutants are being brutalized and they have no place to go now that the schools have been demolished. It would be better for me to concentrate on solutions for that then having to worry about your children." His voice was calm and not accusatory as he spoke, but the words were too painful to have no affect on the poor damaged thief.

Gambit's eyes flashed in instant fury, a swift loss of control. "Quoi? You t'ink you can do better dan Gambit, you go right ahead, patron!"

Charles shivered inwardly at the ice cold steel in that. He could see the tiny thread that Remy was hanging on to, that the man before him was strung out from all the stress he'd been through of late and on the edge of cracking. Of course Remy had been like this before, playing with that edge in some kind of sick game most of his life, and had never fallen off of that thread, but that thread was a very narrow one indeed.

"I never meant to say that you were not capable, Remy. I just need to know that you can do it, that your heart is still willing. Kimble is in a bad way."

"Bien entendu, Gambit don't need you to remind him."

Charles squinted, looking harder. Remy wasn't letting him in as he had before, but that shiny reflective surface was cracked, not so impenetrable as it had been. Just one blink of the eyes, not even a second of time, and Charles realized that some of that reflection was a tear dripping down from one crimson eye. The thief had turned his head away, trying to hide it, protecting his vulnerability.

Charles wasn't that blind. "Remy..."

Gambit shook and broke down right then and there, all pretense of inner strength gone. "What you wanna 'ear? Set' was all fucked up an' Gambit missed it! Babette broke down so 'ard she take 'er own life, an' Gambit never saw it comin'! Kimble's all broke apart again an' Lin done... done... whatever de fuck you wanna call dat! Gambit lost 'im! 'E's gone! What de fuck am I suppose' to do now? I done everyt'ing already! I ain't even got nuthin' left to try!" Remy sobbed, choking on every word. He was still turned away, his hand back over his eyes and his head down as he tried desperately to calm himself.

"No, he's not lost," Charles said, moving forward to lay a hand on Remy's shoulder. It hurt to see this complicated man break like this and he knew it wouldn't have happened in front of anyone else. He shared a bond with this young man almost as close as father and son, something that had only grown since the thief's return from Antarctica. It was true a lot had been dumped in Gambit's lap, the thief had spelled it out well enough. Too much, apparently. Skye was missing, Babette had taken her own life, Aiden was refusing to cooperate with him, and his favorite Siskan of them all had broken and shut down, shut him out. Of course of them all, Kimble's retreat had hurt the worst.

It was clear on the man's face after he took a moment to regroup. He looked back at his mentor, his eyes red and his face flushed. His voice was cracked and broken as he said with a little more calm, "All dis time, I t'ought Kim needed me, but I t'ink I was jus' foolin' m'self."

Charles gave him a squeeze, seeing the thief's loss of faith in his own abilities. He'd crashed and needed some encouragement, not an accusation. In spite of the day's destruction, Charles was sure Remy could find a way out of this and he was quick to respond, "You were not fooling yourself. No one can explain what it is you two share, but I think it's obvious the two of you need each other. For good or for ill, it just is."

"What am I gonna do?"

"Well, perhaps you should what Aiden has written in his diary. I am not so nieve as to think you haven't gotten your own copy. How far did you get?"

Remy looked at him, busted, but didn't even try to hide the fact that the Professor was right. "Jus' to when Meckland came and took him from de Muzla."

"Well, then I'm a little further along than you. Do us both a favor and read. Aiden seems well enough, given all he's been through. Maybe there's answers there if you're clever enough to find them."

Remy nodded and wiped at his face, trying to regain his composure. It was an impossible task, he was trashed. "Go home," Charles ordered fatherly. "Sleep and then read. Learn what you can."

Gambit shambled to his feet, wrestling the crutches under his arms. This only added to his personal humiliation. Bad enough that he couldn't control his unruly children or his emotions, but his body was once more crippled. He closed his eyes on another wave of disgust and self pity.

Charles lay a hand on his, insistent now. "Nothing that happened today was your fault. Don't try and blame yourself. You need help, Remy. You can't handle four Siskans on your own."

"T'ree," Remy corrected softly, choking down the lump in his throat.

"Three. Get some rest, Remy."

Gambit nodded and shuffled off, heading for home.

-----------------------------

Remy wasn't sure how he made it home, he was lost in a fog of misery and pain. When he got there, he was alone, he had arrived before Molly returned with Angel from school. It was just as well, he wanted to be alone. He chugged down a couple of Henry's painkillers and fell into bed, crashing almost instantly.

He didn't know how long he slept, only that it was deep and black, dreamless. He only started to become dimly aware when he felt a familiar and comforting weight beside him and soft, gentle fingers running through the thin wisps of his bangs. Sound was trickling in, there was the easy music from the kitchen, Molly had tossed in an Alison Krauss CD, one of their favorites. As if on cue, the one song they had claimed for themselves was playing and Molly was quietly humming along. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of it, it was as if it had been written for them.

_It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart_

_Without saying a word you can light up the dark_

_Try as I may I can never explain_

_What I hear when you don't say a thing_

_The smile on your face_

_Lets me know that you need me _

_There's a truth in your eyes_

_Saying you'll never leave me_

_The touch of your hand _

_says you'll catch me if ever I fall_

_You say it best when you say nothing at all_

_All day long I can hear people talking out loud_

_But when you hold me near_

_You drown out the crowd_

_Old Mister Webster could never define _

_What's being said between your heart and mine_

_The smile on your face_

_Let's me know that you need me_

_There's a truth in your eyes_

_Sayin' you'll never leave me_

_The touch of your hand_

_Says you'll catch me if ever I fall._

_You say it best when you say nothing at all._

Molly knew he was awake, but she let him be, touching him gently until he finally gave in and pulled her closer. Henry's pain pills be damned, the touch of his wife was better than all of that. She giggled softly as he nuzzled her, he had managed to find at least a tiny spark of playfulness in spite of the day's misery.

"What you doin'?" he grumbled softly against her neck. "Wakin' up a boy from a sound sleep."

Molly signed into his hand. **_It's suppertime, silly. Time to eat._**

Suppertime? Kimble's nightmare episode with Seth had happened first thing that morning, Remy had slept the whole day away. Not that it mattered any, his Siskans were trashed. It was just as well for this day to end so he could start all over again fresh tomorrow.

"What you makin'?"

_**Can't you tell?**_

He grinned and made a show of sniffling loudly. "Hmm.. Fried chicken... Best be askin' Set' to come by. He ate jus' about all of it last time he was 'ere."

She laughed and gave him a squeeze, and then he felt her carefully running her hands over his skin and then his leg, checking him. " 'M okay, chere," he said, laying his hand over hers. "It only 'urts jus' a little bit."

**_Liar_**, came her reply fast enough. His skin was very warm and the bandage a little tight. He wasn't infected, he had no reason to doubt she could smell it if he was, but you don't get punctured like that without a great deal of pain. He wasn't going to fool her. **_Let me help you up._**

He shifted on the bed, struggling just to sit, and felt a bright lance of pain rip through his leg. Yeah, this was going to be fun. He grunted as Molly helped him sit up and get his legs situated, noting with some surprise how she handled him very easily. She was much stronger than he was in spite of the gender gap, but it wasn't often that she ever had a chance to show him. She got him up and helped him with his crutches, making sure he was steady before stepping back.

He swayed a bit on his feet, his head starting to ache a little. He wasn't moving really quickly and Molly came closer, taking the time to just stand there and prop him up a bit on his crutches. He let her, leaning against her shoulder and simply smelling the sweetness of her hair. He would be lost without her, he knew that. In his deepest pain, she was here, his foundation, his rock. He would have been a basket case long before this if he'd been left on his own.

He whispered that he loved her, though he knew he had no need to actually say it. He was weak now and in pain, and in moments like that, knew he would be leaking vibrations all over that she could feel. She turned her head to meet him in a kiss, just easy comfort and love, something he deeply appreciated. He could have done that all night, but she laughed and broke it off. **_Food's getting cold._**

"Hmm.. Dis better dan food."

_**Angel misses you. She's worried about you.**_

He closed his eyes. Yeah, Angel. Being linked to Kimble, she must be miserable and a bit needy right now herself. He got moving, hobbling along on his crutches with an ease that was becoming just a little too familiar. He didn't want to get that used to being broken. He had only just come out from the hallway when he heard Angel laugh and come closer. "Uncle Remy!"

"In de flesh, fille. 'Ow you doin'?"

"I'm okay," she replied, her bright smile oddly out of place. Remy had figured she would be in tears or moping around, but she was acting as if this was just an ordinary day. As if her father hadn't walled himself away from the world and left them all behind.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Daddy's just sleeping, Uncle Remy. Don't worry about him. He'll be all right."

Remy blinked, startled. "Uh, d'accorde, petite. If you say so."

"Molly says we can go see him tomorrow."

"Firs' t'ing. I'll take you m'self."

"Okay, let's eat!"

Remy just looked at Molly, who simply shrugged. Remy shook his head and made his way to the table, his eyes never leaving Angel's face. He was used to using her as a barometer for Kimble's tempestuous stormy moods. It hadn't failed him yet and watching her at ease made him wonder if there was something he was missing. After supper, he would take the Professor's advice and read Aiden's files, maybe there was something there to explain all this.

Full of good food and the company of his two girls, his spirits rose enough for him to pop his lap top and take another look at Aiden's files.

Remy hadn't read far when he saw that the Professor was right. Aiden was helping him if he wanted to or not, there were things in here he had needed to know. Maybe Aiden had known this all along and was simply waiting for him to catch up.

_This is the hardest part to write, but I know that if I am to have your complete understanding it must be done. I won't give you all the details, I don't think I can. Already my hands begin to shake as I write this._

_I hate pain, I think you already know this. In our brief time together, you saw what pain can do to me. You had slapped me in an attempt to rouse me, but it does so much more than that. It makes me return it in kind or with even greater cruelty as you saw. It makes me behave like **them**, the **Chuckfet.** And why not? It was they who taught this violent, aberrant behavior to me. _

_So, I hate pain. When I told you never to hit me again, I meant it. I lived in a world made of pain on levels impossible to describe to one who has never lived there. It doesn't take much to return me there and I fear that someday, I'll go back into that nightmare and never return._

**_Never hit me again._**

Remy paused in confusion, thinking, when would Kimble have hit Aiden? That was very unlike Kimble, in fact Remy could think of only one time when the pilot had ever lashed out at him like that. It was back when they were lovers briefly, while Remy was waiting for Molly to grow a little older. Kimble had wanted their loveplay to go a bit rougher than the thief was used to, had just about outright asked Gambit to rape him, to force him, something Remy could never do. They had argued and Kimble had struck him, a deliberate provocation. Of course Gambit wasn't about to fall for such a flimsy ruse, he was much too clever, and had stomped off instead, looking for a place to cool off. Later, Kimble had come to him all apologetic and it never happened again. In some things Kimble learned quickly.

**_/ A shattered vase, ripped up clothes. Sound familiar? _**Shi'ow-ri questioned softly. **_/ We both know something happened there that hasn't happened again. /_**

Remy nodded. Earlier in the text, Aiden had mentioned there had been some sort of misunderstanding when he and Kimble had first coupled. Whatever it had been, they both had gotten over it. Remy knew Kimble had a thing for pain, that he liked things rough, enough that he might go overboard with someone he didn't know all that well. Looked like he just got his answer as to what that misunderstanding must have been.

_Yet as bad as pain is, I like fear even less. Fear with the notion that I have no control over what is happening to me. Even as a gladiator, there were rules and ways to scratch out a living such as it was. You could still control something of how you were treated by your behavior, by your ability to conform. _

_With Meckland, there was never any such thing._

_Meckland wasted no time in bringing us home to his ship. The ship was a large vessel and home to this Dognan Lord, he had no permanent residence but traveled from place to place, making a living out of salvaging wrecks of other ships he found along the way._

_Meckland brought us deep inside his ship and down to his Lab. It was really a workshop but I call it a Lab because all he did there was experiment on us. He was laughing the whole way, unable to contain his excitement now that he had his prize._

_We were able to figure out from his mad ravings that he had just learned of the Game. He didn't get all of it, I guess his feeble brain stopped processing the rest after he learned that the Rogues were the most powerful of us. Unable to locate a Rogue for himself, he decided to try and make one on his own. It was fairly common knowledge to those in the know that Rogues were made more powerful by breaking them and melting them. You had to be careful how you go about it, though, and he had found some of Quishnalay's old notes. Using those scribbles as a guide, he began his work on us in earnest._

_First he had to be sure he could control us so he placed a large Siskan restraining collar on us in addition to the restraints the Muzla had provided when they gave us over. There was no way that Krishnak or Kain with all of their great strength could break us free. Once he was satisfied of his own safety, he next turned a Havertest gun on us._

_Did you ever wonder how we get powers? I mean we all know that it seems to occur, but not the **why** of it. _

_But I know. _

_It has to do with the sources of energy we are assaulted with. A Havertest gun discharges large bolts of Ristle energy. It melted us, and then altered us, see? We woke, screaming, and unconsciously sent a volley of spikes back at Meckland in our anger, the first time we had ever manifested such an ability. Where did those spikes come from? It wasn't hard to figure out. Pilots make the Ristle. The strongest of them make the spikes and shields, and these are the ones used to power the Havertest guns. We had become as telekinetic as the source of the energy that had been used to melt us._

_Well, wasn't Meckland surprised! He got himself pegged nicely, all sore and bleeding. It wasn't much of a deterrent, in fact it only egged him on. He had added to our powers after all. Time and time again, he blasted us, hoping for more powers to awaken in us._

_When the melting produced nothing further, he took to whipping us with a lash and beating us with his own hands._

_I don't want to dwell on this overmuch, just the memory of it is enough to sicken me. I'm quite drunk right now, I'll have you know. It's the only way I can keep my hands steady enough to write. Some of the effects of violence may already know. There is nothing worse than that closeness of a hostile fleshly body to your own, burning with a murderous intent directed at you. It''s an intimacy in its own. Our codes demand our desire for the warmth of another, so a personal beating is a double betrayal._

_Meckland learned to let our energy levels stay low, making sure we hadn't the strength to fight or the ability to conjure spikes to throw at him again. We needed to be full strength for that, unfortunately. He also dumped us into the skin of a ten year old boy, destroying all the others we had, essentially trapping us in this small frame just as the Muzla had done at first. Then he began to break Krishnak down. He started by yelling and screaming, working up his own anger. Then he started slapping us. Krishnak covered his face, but couldn't protect the body. When Meckland moved on to kicking us, Krishnak fled and Kain took over the body in an attempt to free us from the assault. He was too weak, however, to do much more than howl back at our would be Master, prompting the man to strike us with his fists._

_Never had we been dealt such a beating, not even once in the Muzla ring. We had been defeated there, yes, but never with no return to the one doing it, and never to such a degree. Gel blood poured from our wounds and still he continued to strike. Dognan men are far more powerful than ordinary Siskans and even more so than any of the fighters we had ever opposed. The pain was a wall of black, threatening to wash us away._

_Control of the body passed from one personality to another freely in a chaotic nightmare of self destruction, our voices changing as we screamed. What Meckland must have thought of this, I can only imagine._

Remy closed his eyes, horrified as usual when he would read such a thing. Yes, Kimble would know of this level of cruelty. Once in a dark lonely night, Kimble had confessed to him that one time, when Sabretooth had been his Master, the man had whipped him with a belt. Lin had been created that night, the beginning of Kimble's fourth shattered personality. If Remy had thought that had been the worst it could be between a Siskan and his Master, he'd clearly been wrong.

_We never did gain any more powers for all of Meckland's trouble, we could make spikes and form weak shields, that was our limit. He was successful in shattering us deeply. We broke and broke, screaming curses he could never have deciphered, not that he cared. He continued to torture us with abandon, it's not like there would ever be a penalty for this. I mean we were not real, not flesh and blood._

_I don't remember much of this time, bless the Spirits. The shattering we suffered was quite severe and the ghosts of us simply piled up, crowding out everything else. It got to be too much for us. Finally one of our selves, I don't know which one, figured out that if we made a big enough shield, Meckland couldn't get in. Our shield making was crude at that time, don't get me wrong, but still quite effective. Meckland still had to charge us now and again to help us heal and keep us alive for the next day's beating. The next time Meckland gave us enough of a charge, we formed the shield as quickly as we could, a trick that paid off. Locked away in this bubble, we found the first real measure of safety we'd had since we come._

_The shield was small but quite sturdy, just a bubble big enough for one small child. We locked ourselves away inside and then it was blessedly quiet for the first time since Meckland possessed us. The body went into a low powered, dreamlike state. A well deserved rest that saved us, saved what was left of our shattered psyche._

"Oh, really?" Remy found himself speaking aloud. "Now did Kim figure dis trick on 'is own or did you tell 'im, you petit connard?"

Aiden had known a Siskan could do this! Not only that, he had done it himself! Remy was beside himself with fury. The least Aiden could have done was tell him this to allay his fear.

**_/ No, then Aiden would have lost his little bargaining chip, _**Shi'ow-ri whispered. **_/ He was trying to use this knowledge to get what he wants. He was betting on the hope that you hadn't read this far. /_**

Well, at least the trick hadn't paid off, Aiden was still in a holding cell. The best Remy could hope for was that if he continued on, he would find out how the sphere could be overridden or worked around. Obviously someone had gotten Aiden out of it eventually.

_It was there that the first of the premonitions came to me, the Dreamer._

_I was part of the gallery of ghosts that plagued the body, had been from the beginning of our Muzla gladiator phase. I was growing stronger over time though I had no desire to jump into the body, not then. As a ghost I felt no pain. What I did was dream and tell stories and sing songs of comfort to the body when it was quiet, I was an escape I guess you could say._

_But what happened in the bubble was that the dreams I began to have were not of my own creation. I saw things I could never have imagined. I saw a great war. I saw battles where thousands would die. I saw the death of children, Angels I now know. Our Angels. I saw you, Kimble, but not as you are now. Always it was your pretty female face, the one you will always be to me. The face of your soul and one no **Chuckfet **skin could ever hide. It was the only thing that gave me peace in those strange dreams of unspeakable horrors. After all, I couldn't imagine what such a war would ever have to do with me._

_I don't know how long we were in the sphere, only that there was peace for us finally. We had achieved our ultimate escape and there was only blessed silence and uninterrupted dreams. _

_Until..._

"_**Command Override Quishnalay ---- !"**_

_There was a sudden rush of air and then the warmth of blankets and slender arms around us. "Hey, kitten," came a soft voice into our ears. "Welcome back."_

Remy sighed with relief, happy to get his confirmation that Kimble would be all right. Kimble had walled himself away, and he would either come out on his own, or could be coaxed out with a Command Override. It hadn't escaped Remy's notice that Aiden had not provided the exact Override, the Dreamer was still hedging his bets. There was no way Remy would be able to use the code to wake Kimble himself with it. Of course, there might be consequences to waking Kimble early, as the thief was about to read next.

_Kain howled and came awake violently, wrenching control of us. How dare Meckland do this to us? How dare he wake us up from our peaceful slumber?_

"_Easy, kitten," came that same soft voice. "There ain't no need fer all of this noise. Ain't no one gonna hurtcha. M' name's Asher an' I'm here ta helps ya."_

_Yeah, like we would even believe that! Kain surged forward and all was a blur of snarls, bright light and warm air. Somehow we were out of Meckland's Lab and outside in a fabulous garden of flowers and trees. I was a ghost here -- me, the Dreamer. I watched as our body struggled to break free from the strange person holding it, unable to interfere. I could only look on and observe._

_It's hard for me to describe Asher, I have such hopes that you two will meet and it would be a crime to spoil the surprise. Suffice it to say that until I met you, I thought his was the strangest skin I'd ever seen a Siskan crammed into. It's always odd to see blended skins, coverings of mingled animal and human. Suffice it to say, it would be a challenge for him to perform with a client. Someone had gone out of their way to put him in a skin that no one could easily use. _

_The human parts of him were very youthful in appearance, looking no more than that of a adolescent boy, strange for Siskan to appear so young. I doubted that it was by his choice, judging by his other oddities. His eyes were a dark grey, his hair silver but not from any attempt to counter the adolescent look of him, but simply just another color of many. His hair was wispy and thin, just reaching his shoulders. He has some height, but his build is slight, he does not possess the heavy musculature and broad shoulders of a grown man._

_It didn't stop him from being in charge though, he had Kain held quite nicely. Being a ghost I had nothing to fear from him, but I thought I saw his eyes move from Kain, up to me._

"_Care ta gives me a hand, Dreamer?"_

_I guess he **had** looked right at me! It certainly was a shock -- no one other than the personality driving the body had ever been able to see any of us. "What can I do?" I asked in confusion, shaking with fear._

"_Takes the body and talks ta me. Yer buddy Kain here ain't got the mind fer_ _discussion."_

_What a shock, hearing that voice. It was Kimble's voice, but lower in pitch as Asher was clearly male. What was going on? I just stood there, uncertain of what to do. I mean, first we were in the safety of the globe and then we were out here with the strange Siskan guy who looked like some kind of freak. I had no idea where here was and for all I knew, Meckland was pulling some kind of trick._

_Asher squeezed Kain all the harder, the guy was frothing at the mouth, completely rabid in his rage. He was putting up quite the fight and though Asher was obviously a lot stronger than he looked, he was beginning to tire. The only advantage he had was that Meckland had left us in the skin of a ten year old boy, Asher was bigger than us in size. Still Asher was calm and collected as he looked up at me. "You been liberated, Trishnar's yer Master now as he is mine. He tooks ya from Meckland's lab. That sick fuck ain't never gonna hurts you again."_

"_Father?" I called out, deferring to the wisest of us. "What should I do?"_

_Father was there all right, standing in front of the group of us ghosts on the outside. He was being protective, holding the others back. I couldn't help but wonder why if Asher could see us all, he hadn't spoken to him instead of me._

"_Cause he's too scared ta takes the body, he always has been," Asher answered as though he could read my thoughts. "Now, come on, Dreamer. Gives me a hand."_

"_Who are you?" I demanded first._

"_M' name's Asher an' I'm a Siskan likes you. We're from the same clutch. If I wasn't wrasslin' ol' Kain here so hard, you'd see I gots a Mark jus' likes you, only Grey."_

"_What do you want?"_

_He smiled up at me, his grey eyes nothing but gentle. "I wants ta helps ya. Cain't do that if y'all are fightin' me."_

_I will tell you that Asher can be a pretty persuasive guy. There's something to his stillness, to his lack of extreme emotion. He can convince folks into doing just about anything and I was no exception. He just made everything sound so reasonable. _

_I swallowed and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath before diving at the body, struggling to take control of it. Now this was the first time I had ever dared such a thing. The body had always belonged to Kain or Krishnak pretty much, except during that mad time with Meckland, but all the same, not once would I have dared. Why would I want to feel such pain?_

_Kain fought me, not wanting to relinquish control. I thought I had it momentarily, but_ _then Krishnak butted in, taking advantage of the distraction and booted me out. He fought Asher with renewed vigor and a lot more skill. He was the Gladiator after all. Asher lost his battle and was forced to release his prisoner. He jumped back, dodging a blow, graceful as a dancer, but that and nothing more. He was no fighter. _

_Kain didn't charge, but took up a fighting stance, wiping leftover drool from his chin from Kain's tantrum. It didn't matter that he was in such a small skin, he was no less deadly. His eyes were mean and hard, taking Asher wouldn't break much of a sweat._

_It was only then that I saw a flicker of movement to the right of us. Yes we were in a large tropical garden, but there was also an expansive lovely house here, not all that different from the enormous Plantation house palace I would later live in. There was a large wooden porch that ran the length of it and someone was there, watching the proceedings from a distance. I recognized him as a Dognan Lord, but it was not Meckland. His shine was completely different, regal._

"_Any time yer ready, Dreamer," Asher said, still wanting me to jump in. _

_Right. It hadn't worked out so well the first time. Krishnak and Kain were simply too strong._

_Krishnak wasn't about to give me time to think twice on it. He dove at Asher, but then..._

"_**Command Override Quishnalay ---- !"**_

_And blackness._


	6. Chapter 6

(Six)

_When we awoke, the body was in a cage. This was not like any other cage we'd been in. It was a two part container, one half was a shed like structure that was large and roomy with some small bits of furniture, a bed and a table with a stool. The second part was a generous outside patio with bars to keep us inside. It too had a table and a chair for comfort. This was more like an enclosure than a cage, but a prison none the less. Our body had been placed carefully on the small bed and covered with a blanket. The Command Override had shut us down temporarily, but we were now stirring, Krishnak still at the helm._

_I took a minute to wander, these bars couldn't hold a vaporous being such as myself. It didn't take long before I had an idea why we had been placed outside. This was a magnificent place, the air warm and fresh, the garden around us lush and beautiful. It was the furthest place from Meckland's dingy old Lab or the Gladiator ring you could get. It inspired peace and serenity._

_Krishnak sat up, rubbing his eyes, but then rose and stumbled out of the shed over to the metal bars of the patio, immediately starting to test their strength. They had to be made of Adamantium or better, they were unmovable and it was clear we weren't going to simply bust out of here. Krishnak grumbled and stepped back, looking at the table there. A large stone cup of water had been placed there with a bowl of assorted fruits. This was far better than the slops the Muzla fed us, and Meckland had given us no food at all. Krishnak wanted the fruit, but he held back, uncertain if it could be trusted._

"_It's all right ta eats if ya wants it." _

_Krishnak turned to look as Asher came closer. He had come from one of the adjacent gardens and he held a grouping of colorful flowers in his hands. One thing he hadn't lied about was his Mark. It was indeed large and Grey, he was one of us. It looked huge on his adolescent body, he seemed like a child when he is the furthest thing from it, he would be the same age as all of us from this clutch. He wore a strange necklace, a heavy silver chain with an odd looking ornament hanging from it, glinting in the sunlight. I didn't know it then, but I know now that it was a Christian cross. The soft grey of his eyes combined with the flowers in his hands gave him an angelic appearance, like all was well in the world. He was as we would find him most often, serene. _

_Krishnak was immediately defensive, raising his fists._

_Asher held up a hand, asking for patience. "Now, there ain't no need fer that, kitten."_

"_Who are you?" Krishnak demanded._

"_I told ya already, m' name's Asher. I'm a Rogue from yer clutch."_

"_Liar!" Krishnak snarled, but an image of Kimble flashed through his mind._

_Asher smiled, seeing it somehow. "Kimble, yes. She's sleepin' somewheres. Been a while since I felt her, but she's still alive, I kin tells ya that much."_

Remy paused here, considering. How would Asher know such a thing, and if he did, where would that place Kimble in time? Probably on a shelf in Dognan warehouse if he understood this correctly. The Clan would not have found him yet and Zander did not yet exist. It's possible this strange Siskan might have been able to know this, but how was a mystery. Remy was a little disappointed that Aiden would not describe Asher more clearly. He was a youth with a big grey Mark and a blended skin like Kimble's, that was it. Well, that and a Christian cross. How fucked up was that? Remy would have liked to know more. Aiden was telling some secrets, but not all.

_It's creepy how Asher does that, reads your mind. I haven't figured out just how he does it, but I have never seen him do it to hurt anyone. It's only to help and that's why I trust him so much, even now. Of course we did not know this then._

_Krishnak grabbed the bowl of fruit and flung it at Asher, not caring that the bowl itself was too big to pass through the bars. It made a great mess and noise and caused Asher to flinch and show his fear. Krishnak grinned, laughing now, convinced he'd gained an upper hand._

_There was movement from the house and again I turned to see the Dognan Lord once more out on the porch. He came down the steps to the grass, moving closer, and we could all see his bright blue cavalry uniform. It meant nothing to me, but Krishnak was violently dislodged as Kain came back, full bore. He flung himself at the bars, ready to exact his revenge on this man. I didn't realize it right away, but it soon became apparent to me that this was no longer an issue of this man being Dognan, it was his flesh. Quishnalay had hurt us, the Muzla even more.. Then there was Meckland. They all had this in common, their being of the flesh. Their being **Chuckfet**._

_The Dognan man halted immediately though he was in no danger. His green lion's eyes were open wide, clearly he had never seen such ferocity before and it made him nervous._

"_Calls him down, Father," Asher said calmly, peering into the enclosure. "You knows I won't hurt yous."_

"I know no such thing," _Father retorted bravely. In spite of his words, it was clear Father was still afraid and uncertain as I was about this strange being who seemed to be able to see us ghosts. _"If you think you're so powerful, Rogue, call him down yourself_."_

_Asher sighed with impatience and then looked next at me. It seemed he saw something in me that I was not aware of. I wasn't strong, I was afraid. But he spoke to me just the same. "One of yous gots ta do it if yer ever gonna haves a chance at bein' really in control. Calls him down, Dreamer. There's more to ya than ya thinks."_

"_I'm scared!" I blurted out before I could help myself, I don't know why I was so honest, it was just something in Asher's eyes. The way he looked at me with such confidence, he_ _made it so easy to trust him._

_Asher nodded, vibrating love and encouragement at me. "It's okay ta be scared. Just try talkin' to him."_

_Yeah, right. Kain was still freaking out on the bars, foam flying his mouth now as he flailed, even biting the bars in his intense fear and hatred._

_I cleared my throat. "Hey, Kain?"_

_He ignored me of course._

_I cleared my throat a little louder. "Hey, berserker boy! Over here!"_

_Kain paused only briefly, just long enough to determine that I was a ghost and not much of a threat to his possession of the body. He returned to his histrionics and that was that. I shrugged my shoulders at Asher as if to say, What now?_

_Asher nodded at me for trying, acknowledging my effort, such as it was. "Maybe next time."_

"_To whom are you speaking?" the lion man said to Asher. Whoever he was, he had come still a bit closer._

_I realized that this lion man was like everyone else and could not see anyone but Kain, and then only because he had the body. Asher was the only one who could actually see all of us._

_Asher addressed the Dognan Lord, "He's broked up real bad, the worst I've ever seen. He's got like ten in there, maybe more, but he's different from the other Lushna-esk I've known. He sees them all separate, he sees them like they's ghosts. Not a one of 'em is real, but he thinks they is."_

"_I'm am too real!" I shouted out in my indignation, shaking with anger. I don't know what made me say it so boldly, it's just that I felt offended at the idea._

_Asher smiled at me, pleased in some way. "If yer so shure then proves it, Dreamer. Come take what's rightfully yers. Come takes the body an' say hello to yer new Master. This is Trishnar. He sees us as real, Dreamer. He loves us."_

"_Liesz! All you szay isz liesz!" Kain howled in his broken voice, renewing his attack with more vigor. He was showing signs of damage now, his lips and nose were bleeding, his arms were covered in bruises. I wasn't sure if I wanted to feel that. I knew I would if I jumped in._

"_It's only pain," Asher said kindly, ignoring Kain completely, refusing to give him any attention for his outburst. "It'll pass in the sun."_

_Ah, another reason to have us out here. In the sun we had a constant source of energy. We would not starve here as we had in Meckland's Lab._

"_That's right, Dreamer. You gots nuthin' to lose. C'mon. Show me how strong ya are."_

_I had to admit, there was a power in those soft grey eyes. He made me feel that strength, he made me feel good._

"_Careful, Dreamer," Father cautioned. "You don't know what he really wants."_

_I closed my eyes and leapt._

_I was shocked by the sensation of plunging. I guess when I had tried to take the body before, I hadn't even been close. Now I felt like I was being squeezed uncomfortably tight. There was a sort of pop and then there I was, looking out of brand new eyes. _

_The difference in sensory input is hard to describe. Everything was sharper, clearer as if I was learning to see all over again. The colors were brighter, the scents so much keener. I could hear small animal noises now, the birds up in the trees all around us. If I had thought the garden was beautiful before, it was double that now, brilliant in its diversity of color and bright floral scents._

_Of course, I also now felt the pain of Kain's abuse to the body. It was horrible and overwhelming, tearing sounds of agony from me like I have never heard. I staggered and sagged against the bars and immediately Asher was there, holding me up with his hands thrust through the bars. He was whispering to me, but I was entranced by the beauty of his angelic face and those sparkling grey eyes. No, now I saw that they were actually a steel blue. So lovely._

"_There ya go, Dreamer. That's it," he said to me, showering me with vibrations of bliss and calm. I laughed giddily, drunk on it, but there was more to come. As he held my small body up with one arm, he lay his other hand on my chest, stopping my heaving breaths. When I had calmed enough, he began to trace small circles there on my chest, all the while drowning me in vibrations of love. It was then that I saw it, the sparkling, glittery Morrowhiem beginning to sparkle from his fingertip onto my skin. He was feeding me with it. My body shivered with sudden want, instinctively desiring this. I grasped at him, refusing to let him go._

_The whole time he kept whispering, speaking to me so gently, saying words I hadn't heard in a long time. "Love you" and "help you" and "take care of you" and "no more pain." It was then that he worked his most special magic, the only Siskan I have ever known who could do such a thing. There was a surge of energy and the Morrowhiem seemed to suddenly flash as if ignited, and then I was climaxing right there in his arms. It was an intense release, it had been a while since Tillamay had lain with the body. The reality was that as the Dreamer I had not actually felt this before because I had never been in control of the body when it had_ _happened. It was glorious, the most heavenly sensation there is. I tingled all over and shivered as wave after wave of tremors rocked my body and blew my mind. There was nothing particularly sexual about it, it was my body's reaction to the Morrowhiem. All the pain I had felt was suddenly gone and I was left with a euphoric high. I clung to him, my Asher, shaking with happiness._

"_Huh, he didn't black out," Asher commented with some surprise._

"_He won't. He's a Receiver," Trishnar said, daring to come a little closer now._

_Even in my fog of bliss, I sensed his approach and was terrified. He could hurt me now in this body. He could do it at any time in any number of ways and no one would do anything to stop it._

"_Easy, kitten," Asher replied, holding me tighter. (Yeah, he calls everyone kitten, though I don't know why. It would sound dumb coming from anyone else, but from him, it always sounds right.)_

_I didn't want Trishnar near me and even Asher couldn't stop me from pulling away. I freed myself and then ran back inside the shed, sliding underneath the bed for safety. "Get away! Leave usz alone!" I hissed, startled once more at the change in my voice.. It was broken as we were, that of a Kintay. I was used to this in the others who had held the body, but not in myself. I guess I would have to put up with it if I was to remain. A small price if being here allowed me to feel Asher's Morrowhiem again._

_Trishnar came no closer though I could sense his disappointment. Good, let him feel some hurt. It was nothing compared to what we'd been through._

"_Let me works with him a bit," Asher said to him. "He just needs some time."_

_Trishnar nodded and started to go, but Asher grabbed at him gently, tugging on one of his sleeves. Trishnar turned to him and they met in a strange sort of kiss, Asher pressing his cheek to the other's with implied intimacy. Of course the Dognan man would never be able to kiss the way we do, the shape of his mouth would never permit it. Still, Trishnar showed some surprise in his shine at Asher's gesture. It was like he and Asher only did this rarely and he was now being privileged to have it. Obviously Asher felt bad that Trishnar was hurt by my rejection of him and Asher was trying to make him feel better. It seemed to work. Trishnar smiled at him in gratitude and ruffed his hair, returning the kiss by giving Asher's neck a stroke with a long gentle swipe of his tongue, a lick that was far more the Siskan being tasted and savored. _

_It made me feel sick to see it. Trishnar was a filthy **Chuckfet **Master and didn't deserve Asher's love or his concern. Asher's gesture of submission only showed the truth of his words, Trishnar was now my owner as well. My life was in his hands as if he was some kind of god, his to do with as he pleased. Well, I'd be damned if I was going to suck up to him, I didn't care if he killed me! I hated him! I hated them all!_

_A small noise of disgust left me at what they had just shared and Trishnar heard it. His shine rippled with uncertain emotion, but he didn't press it. He brushed Asher's cheek with a furry, clawed hand and walked away, leaving us alone._

_Asher looked at me. "It ain't like that. Not with him."_

"_Zey are all like zat I hate zem! I hate zem all!"_

_My anger surged and just like that I was booted out of the body. Kain had returned, but we were now so tired all he did was growl his hatred from our hiding place. As a ghost once more, I turned away from Asher not wanting to hear anything more, and drifted just past the walls of the shed to a bed of bright red roses. I sank down in them, my vaporous body not damaging them in the least and drifted away in a dream. No Masters for me, not now, not ever again, I thought, never realizing just how wrong I would be._

_----------------------------_

_Trishnar gave Asher the time to work with us as promised. Kain didn't trust him, but when I saw that Grey Mark coming, I would try to take the body, eager for the Morrowhiem treatments Asher provided. I was becoming more and more successful at these attempts over time, the treatments were killing Kain's powerful rage and boosting my personal strength._

_Asher would come to us, sometimes as often as twice a day and use the Morrowhiem on our body. It was powerful and addicting, leaving me in a blissful dream like state for sometimes up to an hour. It was just so nice to be wrapped in that sense of peace. I wasn't angry or afraid any more and it was such a relief. There are no words to describe just that simple sensation of feeling something close to normal. I couldn't get enough of it. I wanted it, I even dreamed about it, waking up shivering and hungry for more._

_Asher was indulgent and patient with my cravings, never turning me down or using my wants against me. All the while he treated us, Asher spoke of our Master. He claimed Trishnar wasn't like anyone else, that he truly cared about his Siskans and in fact had a large number of us, some normal but a few Lushna-esk here and there. Of those in the Game, Trishnar now had three, myself included. He had learned of the Game and was horrified by it. He had vowed that if he ever came across any of us that were Marked, he would hide us away and keep us safe._

"_What wasz disz Game?" I asked. Quishnalay had never told me any of this._

_Asher began to explain. There were sixty of us or so, he was unsure of the exact number. Quishnalay had made us all in one batch, making us siblings. The goal was for us to all be scattered across this small galaxy and then sought after in a sick kind of scavenger hunt. Along the way, each of us was to find a special token or object, our Angels. These objects would eventually be combined into a Shalayesk machine, some kind of powerful thing, possibly a weapon. The Game players would seek us not for our own value, but for the eventual power that Shalayesk machine would provide. We, the Siskans, were not important, only our Angels. Among the clutch that was made, there were six Rogues. Asher and Kimble were among those six, as well as Mishnar who I remembered even now. The Rogues had been broken on purpose because with each breaking, they would grow in power. _

_This was what the Muzla and Meckland had been trying to do with me, Asher explained. The Muzla had done it to increase my strength and also to defeat the "no kill" clause that Siskans were required to have in place. Without that removed, we would never have been able to fight so efficiently. Meckland had done it to increase our powers even beyond what the Muzla had done and reveal hidden talents. Meckland had partially succeeded, I now had more abilities than before, though in reality, I would never be a Rogue in the real sense, my codes would not permit it. _

_Trishnar had been actively seeking Meckland for other crimes the wayward officer had committed, finding me was actually an accident though it was quite lucky for me. Fate, or **Mar-yoo** as Asher calls it, saved my scrawny Siskan ass and liberation came in the form of a Dognan King._

_I grumbled at that, still uncertain. Yes, I was grateful to be away from Meckland, but I knew so little of Trishnar that I couldn't possibly trust him._

_Asher went on to say that when Trishnar saw our sphere in Mecland's Lab, he recognized it for what it was -- a Lushna-esk Courtesan so disturbed it had withdrawn into a shell --- and the Dognan King flipped out in anger. This Master was special, one who cared for his Siskans and was enraged at the thought of any abuses against them. One glance at Quishnalay's notes and he knew that we were also special, that he'd found another piece in the Game. Trishnar slaughtered Meckland not just for his crimes, but for the cruelty he had enacted on me._

_I shook my head. "Why would Trishnar care? 'E know not'ing of me."_

"_Cause that's how Trishnar is, kitten. Ya jus' gots ta give the guy a chance. He's gonna helps ya. He's already called the Games Master ta comes an' integrates ya."_

_I jumped back in horror, I couldn't help it. **Integrate me?** What did that mean?_

"_Don' be afraid," Asher said, trying to reassure me. "It ain't no big deal. You only ever wuz suppozta be one person. He's gonna helps ya do that."_

"_Fuck you!" I snarled, overcome with fear. I retreated to the shed and refused to come out, not even when Asher came inside the enclosure and tried to lure me out. I refused and scrambled under the bed again, shaking in my terror._

_Asher didn't press me, but at the same time stayed by me the whole time, offering silent comfort with his presence._

_I stayed there all night and the next day I had a visitor. As Asher had said, another Dognan man had arrived earlier that day, and was now unloading crates from his ship out to the grassy area next to my enclosure. The moment I heard the racket, I balled up tight in my refuge under the bed, refusing to let anyone see me. I grew more and more terrified with each box that came, with each machine that was taken out and set up in preparation for whatever horror this man had in store for me. Asher remained with me inside my cage, vibrating peace and asking for calm. _

_Finally, when the noise of all that construction had stopped, Trishnar came to my cage, bringing this newcomer with him. There was some discomfort in Asher's shine as he stood by and I got the idea that he disliked this man, but was doing his best to hide it, probably for my sake._

"_Dreamer," Asher called to me. "This is Paladon, the Games Master. You don't knows him, but he's here ta helps ya."_

_I wasn't about to let this man near me. He was bigger than Trishnar and was clearly a Dognan man of high rank and lineage, he had the brown furry wings as Trishnar did. He also possessed not one ounce of love or compassion for me in his eyes or his shine. "Go away!" I screamed, my voice breaking. Impossible to describe the fear._

_The Games Master made a face of impatience and started spouting out Command Overrides. My body obeyed in spite of my control of it, I collapsed to the floor and he came inside the enclosure, rudely shoving Asher out, and dragged me out onto the grass. I was helpless but completely aware, the most frightening thing you could imagine. I lost control of the body and some of the others tried jumping in to take over, but it was no use, we were paralyzed._

_I was a ghost again now and as I drifted about, I saw Asher standing at a distance, shaking with emotion. He rubbed the large silver cross about his neck with his hands and was whispering to himself, his eyes closed as if in prayer. His shine was in shocking disarray, he was upset for me, but yet believed this was for the best. He loved me deeply but at the same time the process I was about to endure frightened Asher. He did not agree with it, not entirely, but he would not help me to stop it._

_Trishnar stood with the Games Master who began to work on our body. He had made a small work area for himself, there were stacked computers and other devices in a semi circle, arranged for the sole purpose of correcting me. We were surrounded by these machines and never had we looked so much like them, those machines. It horrified me to see myself in this way, I had associated my condition with being closer to the flesh than to that of the computers around me. To this day I rebel against anything that reminds me that we were created by fleshly hands and not simply born as all other creatures are._

_A question was asked by the Games Master and Trishnar deferred to Asher._

_Asher stopped his whispering and looked right at me. "Aiden, the Dreamer. He's the_ _one ya wants in control full time. He's the strongest."_

"_No, wait!" I shouted, but then it was too late. I was sucked down into the body and was a ghost no more. It was suffocating, being here against my will. I struggled but it was a waste of time, the body was still frozen and helpless. Commands were executed and code streamed through my mind. I think I screamed before I blacked out. _

Remy paused here to consider what Aiden had written. One thing Kimble would never discuss was how it had felt during the integration process. Kimble had ultimately been thankful for it, but it had frightened him badly at the same time.

The choosing of the controlling personality here had intrigued Remy. It was interesting that the Dreamer personality had been selected to rule. In both Babette and Kimble, the Lover was chosen for their passivity and kindness. Did Talalanay not possess such a personality? Maybe it had been too badly buried or too weak perhaps, and that was why the Dreamer had been chosen. Krishnak and Kain would have left the body too aggressive. Krishnak was a lot like Zander and it was a slight nod to Remy's decision that having the Lover in control instead had been the proper choice.

_When I awoke, everything was strange. I was comfortable at least, warm arms held me. I was in my shed and it was late evening now. A good thing, even the moonlight seemed overly bright and the sounds around me jumbled and confused._

"_Relax, yer safe here," Asher whispered to me, keeping his voice very soft._

_We were alone and it was very peaceful. We were curled up on the floor of my shed and leaning against one of the walls where we could peek outside. Asher would never have fit in my bed, but we were wrapped in thick warm blankets and snuggley cozy. I liked this._

_Asher knew it and petted me gently. "We'll keeps it small here fer a while. Just till yer senses calm down. You should feels better in the mornin'. If yer up to it, we kin goes out fer a little. I could show you my place if ya likes."_

"_You 'ave your own placze?" I asked, somewhat disappointed that after all I'd been through this day, that my voice was still a mess._

"_Yer voice won't ever change, it is what it is just likes mine. Ta answer yer question, yeah, I gots a place. Just like this one only a little bigger and it's open to the garden. I kin come an' go as I please. I gots lots of books and things. The Master is always bringin' me stuff from the different places he goes."_

"_Sztay wit me," I demanded, crushing myself against him. I had never felt so fragile._

"_All night, kitten. I'll be here 'till yer ready ta be on yer own."_

Remy nodded. It had been like that with Kimble, too, after the repair. He had held Kimble for a long while, the Siskan shivering against him the whole time. It took a few days before Kimble was himself again, but it had been worth it.

_Asher stayed with me all night, I know this because it was just too hard for me to sleep, the day had been too eventful. It was pleasant just the same, feeling his arms wrapped tightly around me. When it was still and quiet, when he must have guessed I had finally fallen asleep, I heard him softly whisper as his hands gently stroked my hair. _

"Now we lays us down ta sleeps

We prays the Lord our souls ta keeps

If we dies before we wakes.

We prays the Lord our souls ta takes.

"_Lord, hear my prayer, " Asher continued softly in the dark, "This is m' brother Aiden. He's got some spit an' vinegar in him on account of all the hurtin's done ta him, but he gots a good heart, I kin feels it. Helps me helps him remember what it's like ta be loved, helps him find peace."_

_I had never heard such a prayer before. Sure the human Siskans had believed in Spirits, but I had never heard them pray like that. I myself did not believe in the Spirits, or rather I was angry with them for how we had been treated and for the terrible visions they sent me in my dreams. If they were so great and worthy of my love, why had they forsaken me to the life I had led? Still, I did not mind Asher's soft words, they were kind and full of love for me and this mysterious Lord._

_My mind drifted, warm with Asher's comfort and his praises about me, something I had needed I guess, the idea that I was worth something to someone. He was right after all and by morning, I felt much better. The first thing I noticed was that the usual gaggle of ghosts had been significantly reduced in number. Most of them were gone, but Kain was still there. He and Father stood very close by while Talalanay and Krishnak were some distance away. They were fainter I suppose, less strong than they use to be. Sheema, the Afraid, was also close, whispering that we shouldn't venture out, but stay small and hidden._

Again Remy nodded. Really, if you combined those personalities, what you had was the Lover, the Punisher and Lin in their way. Aiden at that moment wasn't too far from where Kimble had been when he had been repaired. Gambit couldn't help but feel encouraged by the news and by what he had read so far. Kimble would be fine, Aiden would be fine, all they needed was a little patience. Remy rubbed his eyes and continued, eager to learn more.

_Asher was good as his word and remained with us, staying very close as we ventured out and sat at our table. There was the usual stone cup of water and bowl of fruit. I was hungry and we ate from what our Master had offered, savoring every bite. The food tasted better since what Paladon had done, or my enjoyment was greater, I couldn't be sure. It was just better._

"_You wanna takes a short walk?" Asher asked._

"_How far?" I replied, looking around me nervously. I had nothing to fear, neither Trishnar nor the Games Master was anywhere in sight._

"_Just a little ways. My house is just around the corner of the house."_

_I nodded eagerly, intensely curious about what Asher's living space might be like. My love for him had only increased by his kindnesses to me and I wanted to get to know him better. Asher used a key to let us out of my enclosure and held the door open wide for me, wanting me to walk out on my own. He would not see me forced out again. I was very nervous as I came out, reaching for him, but Asher didn't mind if I clung to him tightly. In fact, since I was so small, he next let me climb up on his back and he carried me, something very thrilling as he moved very quickly on four feet._

Remy blinked, unable to stop the smile of wonder. _Climbed up on his back? Moving very quickly on **four feet?**_Aiden hadn't wanted to spoil the surprise for Kimble, but it was Gambit now who's heartbeat had risen with anticipation and regret that Asher wasn't here now to be seen and felt for real. What did Asher look like? Why would Aiden keep it a secret? Was there really any hope that Asher wasn't turned over to Jael? Having no answers to these questions, Remy had no choice but to let it all go and return to Aiden's ramblings, hoping for more clues.

_Asher took me to his shed, which was more like a barn actually. It was quite roomy with lots of bookshelves and cabinets. I had never seen so many books and strange objects in one place before. Asher was a seeker of knowledge and it was never more evident than in his living space. There were animal bones and skulls and test tubes about, small exotic birds and animals in cages. Wooden crates and storage boxes were stacked nearby, still leaking packing stuffing and just begging to be gone through and explored. One whole wall was made of a massive bookcase filled to overflowing, more books lay stacked about on the floor, most of them dogeared and bookmarked. It was like he was a closet librarian scientist, as if his mind was always curious, which in fact it is. _

_His furniture was also quite odd as I supposed it must be, he certainly couldn't use any of mine. The bed was a large platform covered with thick blankets and pillows and sprawling, looking all too inviting. I found myself relaxing, wanting to be in it and have Asher in it with me._

"_You don't needs the treatments so much now, Dreamer," Asher said, knowing my mind. He was smiling now, but guarded as well._

"_It waszn't all I had in mind," I said, unable to stop a shiver of excitement from rippling through me. It was true that as arousing as Asher's treatments were, this was the first time the idea of performing physical intimacy with someone else had even crossed my mind. I was healing._

_Asher simply expanded that smile in his way. It's a secret smile he has, the one he hides behind. "There won't be any intimacy 'tween you an' me, Dreamer," he said to me, being very gentle about it. "Not likes that. Not now, not never. I cain't do that no more with anyone ever again."_

_I couldn't have been more shocked by his words. Asher didn't explain it to me at that moment, but he did later. He spared me the me the details, but what he said was chilling enough. Asher had once belonged to a jealous Master who had a large harem of Siskans. Asher had been well received and treated kindly, but when this Master thought Asher had an unnatural interest in his wife, he forced Asher into a skin that could never be used. Once Asher had been so punished, the Master finalized the deal by destroying Asher's third star. Asher will remain this way all of his life._

Remy closed his eyes, feeling Asher's pain. Just when he thought there was no end to a Master's cruelty, someone always managed to come up with a way to surprise him. Was there no end to the madness? Judging by what Aiden was saying, Asher had been forced into celibacy, a condition Kimble did not handle well, though what was in between the lines here was that Asher seemed to be decently enough. Trishnar had provided well for him and Asher had made his peace with it.

"_But why can we not play?" I asked Asher in confusion, still looking over at his bed with longing. He had not yet explained his situation and I was stubborn as usual when it came to something I wanted. I didn't get it. "You fear disz szkin? I t'ink we bot' know we clever enough to work it out."_

"_No, Dreamer," Asher said firmly. "It's good yer thinkin' you kin be intimate again with others. It shows yer healin' and that makes me happier than I kin say. But it won't happen with me. I'll helps ya finds yer way as much as I can, but not likes that."_

_I frowned, displeased. It had seemed to me that physical intimacy would have to happen between us, the love he had given me with the Morrowhiem had been much too strong not to be acted upon. I backed off, not wanting to strain our friendship. In that moment, I still believed that in time I could help him overcome whatever was holding him back, to help him as he had helped me._

_Silly me, for underestimating him. In all the time we've known each other, he has never once backed down. To this day I still don't understand his unwillingness to explore our options and I admit to being an ass about it at times. It was always a refusal with him. I kept pushing him over the days, but he never capitulated though I could see the red in his shine, my desire for him had aroused him and he was always fighting it. I was in the skin of a child and he was in the skin of a freak, but I was confident that we could still manage. I was a creative guy. But he wouldn't have me and my frustration grew as did my temper. I couldn't understand his refusal, even now I do not. When we began to argue about it, when he saw I wouldn't give up my pursuit of him, he withdrew the Morrowhiem treatments and began to push me towards Trishnar, hoping I would send my amorous inclinations that way._

_It wasn't going to happen. I wanted nothing to do with the man. Not even when Trishnar had the Games Master come back and do some further work on my integration_ _would I show him my thanks. Certainly intimacy was out of the question. My vow never to be owned in spirit if not in fact was still quite firmly in place._

_I was however, getting better all the time. My emotions were better under control and I was calm enough to start to enjoy my place in this world. After a couple more treatments by the Games Master, my menagerie of ghosts had decreased significantly. I was now down to Father and Talalanay, ghosts that no treatments or code repairs have ever been able to make disappear. If anything they have become stronger than the vaporous ghosts that plagued us ever since the first time we broke. Now to me, they are solid and lifelike, as real as any fleshly creature, even though no one else around me can see or hear them. They are with me now and always will be, though I am firmly at the helm of this body, I will not be dislodged._

_In spite of his continued refusals, I pursued Asher with renewed vigor, all the while ignoring his attempts to steer me Trishnar's way. I was healing and the Siskan Courtesan in side of me was trying to reassert itself. I was looking for someone to play with and he was the closest thing I had to a friend. Time and time again, he gently pushed me off. If I grew too belligerent, he would withdraw, punishing me with loneliness. It hurt, but I was always eager enough to see him when he returned. He would come back bearing gifts and whispers of how great Trishnar was, how I would enjoy him if I would only give him the chance._

_Yeah, right. _

_Yes, I was growing sexually frustrated, but no amount of discomfort was going to change the fact that there was no way I would lay with a **Chuckfet** client or Master ever again,_ _I was determined._

_Of course the odds were against me and so was Asher. When I got out of hand with my attempts to seduce him, he left me alone completely for a while, stopping his visits and leaving me alone in my enclosure. I was never permitted out on my own, I had always been in his company. I was quite put out about this, I can tell you. Especially when he would stay away for longer and longer periods of time. _

_But I wasn't without visitors, you see. Trishnar was done being a sideline player._

To be continued in Transitions


End file.
